Sure enough, a beautiful little Kemps Ridley.....no apparent injuries, maybe hooked on a fishing line
But still the biggest to come.......April to end with a BIG BANG.......
On April 29th, anticipating the start of the 2017 sea turtle nesting season on May 1st, NMB STP Volunteer and head of the Briarcliffe group, Larry was walking the Briarcliffe Beach as the sun was rising. Way up the beach, over a mile south from the Briarcliffe Walk over, over 2 miles from the nearest Vehicle Access at the southern end of the Arcadian Shore Beach, he spots a large mound of sand. As he draws closer, he realizes it is not a pile of sand but a LARGE Turtle. An adult loggerhead. As he approaches, he sees her head move. She is very weak, cannot even keep her head up long but she is alive.
Burning question, how to get this large, estimated to be over 200-pound turtle off the beach? Tide is coming in, sand is soft, it will take 5 to 6 strong people to carry her even a short distance. Call is made to SC DNR, it is around 6:30AM, DNR immediately heads out from Charleston with a 4-wheel vehicle. But ETA is over 2.5 hours. Another call to Horry County Police.....Help can you get a vehicle onto the beach and head toward the remote Briarcliffe Section!!! Immediate response, we are on the way.......
NMB STP Volunteers from the Briarcliffe section soon arrive. Bob brings an umbrella, sun is coming up fast and strong. Water is poured over the turtle to try to cool her down and keep her hydrated.
NMB Police soon arrive with two vehicles......it takes four people to lift the turtle up onto the vehicle.....soon on their way where they are met about 30 minutes later by SC DNR around Surfside Beach. The exchange is made and the turtle is quickly on route to Charleston.
Destiny is soon at the SC Sea Turtle Care Center. She weighs in at a 206 pounds. Destiny was very thin, had cuts on all four flippers, probably shark bites, very lethargic with poor blood values. A classic Debilitated Turtle Syndrome or DTS.
Cataracts were also found in both eyes so Destiny is put in quarantine. On May 11th, Destiny is moved to a 1,000-gallon tank. she has developed a large appetite and when not eating, resting on the bottom of her tank. Eight days later, she is moved to a tank with a window, at this point Destiny becomes very sociable, always looking for food. She becomes a crowd favorite and reacts when anyone is near her.
Since Destiny's cataracts had not progressed any further during her stay at the Centeer, she is scheduled for a private release on September 26, Isle of Palm. Larry is once again reconnected with this gentle giant and helps carry her to the water.........
Good-bye Destiny......a wonderful turtle. Hope she turns up next season in the DNA nesting........
It takes a VILLAGE to help these turtles, many injured or sick due to our activity both on land and ocean. With Destiny, it started with one volunteer walking the beach at sunrise and progressed to more volunteers, the Horry County Police, the SC Department of Natural Resources and then the volunteers and staff at the Sea Turtle Care Center.........THANK YOU ALL......the world is a better place with this turtle still in it.........
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