Text from SC DNR came to the NMB Sea Turtle Patrol just after 10PM...nesting sea turtle on the beach, 5th Ave S in front of Windemere. Rob and Linda quickly responded and found not a nesting loggerhead but a stranded juvenile kemps ridley......just barely alive, laying at the water line, being pushed up the beach with the incoming tide.
The little guy was quickly loaded into a car and the trip to the SC Sea Turtle Hospital began. Traffic was bad, middle of the Black Biker Week, intersections closed....police at every corner, bikes all over the place, trip to Georgetown took longer than normal, SC DNR was waiting to take the turtle the rest of the way to the Hospital.
The turtle made it through the night but is in extremely critical conditions, erratic heart beat, intubated and staff at the hospital were breathing for it again this morning. The turtle is getting a fluid drip to try regulate potassium in the blood (hoping to make the heart rate more regular). Prognosis is not very good.
A huge thanks to the people who instead of just ignoring the turtle or putting it back in the water, called the authorities and stayed with the turtle until help arrived. And a big thanks to Michelle from SC DNR for driving to Georgetown to transport the turtle into Charleston. If we had to go all the way, it would have been after 4AM before we arrived back in NMB.
Me my dad and grandpa were metal detecting when one of the rescuers came up to ask if we had a flashlight we gave it to him and we walked up the shoreline looking for the people who called and we finally found them and the turtle was lying on the ground not moving it would pick up his head every 30 seconds we are glad it made it to the hospital we are praying for the turtle
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