Hilton Head visitor couldn’t sleep. So he saved a Loggerhead sea turtle
Steve Brooks was having a tough time sleeping when he visited Hilton Head Island.
That rough night of sleep led to the rescue of an “exhausted” loggerhead sea turtle.
While out on a midnight beach walk last week, Brooks found the loggerhead stuck in the sand.
“She had nested, we determined later, and as she took a long arduous wandering crawl back to the water, she paused, exhausted, and every flipper swoop she made dug her a bit deeper into a pit into the sand instead of propelling her to the water,” Sea Turtle Patrol Hilton Head Island wrote on Facebook.
Sea turtle nesting season on Hilton Head began May 1 and, as of this week, the island had 113 Loggerhead nests.
The eggs in the nests will begin to hatch over the next few weeks. The tiny turtles will make the trek across the sand toward the ocean to begin their lives at sea.
About hour after Brooks saw the trapped turtle, he noticed she hadn’t moved. He called the S.C. Department of Natural Resources for help while Pam, his wife, kept watch, according to the post.
Workers with Sea Turtle Patrol arrived and dug the sand away. They lifted and pushed the turtle out of the treacherous hole.
“Biggest thanks to Steve and Pam for quick thinking and wonderful support for this beautiful sea turtle,” Sea Turtle Patrol wrote.
