For sea turtle hatchlings, the first view matters. In Volusia County, Florida, local officials say dozens headed the wrong way this week after bright artificial light appeared to pull them away from the ocean.
The Volusia Sheriff’s Office said deputies helped collect about 75 hatchlings that were crawling up a beach approach instead of toward the water.
“Overnight, VSO deputies assisted in collecting about 75 confused baby sea turtles who were trying to crawl up a beach approach,” the Volusia Sheriff’s Office shared on Facebook. “The turtles were turned over to County of Volusia officials who later released them back in the ocean.”
Sea turtle hatchlings use a “sea-finding” behavior that directs them toward the ocean, or toward the lowest and brightest horizon in their line of sight. When artificial light is the brightest thing they see first, they can be misdirected.
The interaction is not unusual during nesting season. In July, a 181-kilogram nesting sea turtle was found trapped in a swimming pool in a residential area in the Cayman Islands. Soon after, about a dozen sea turtle hatchlings were rescued from a condo’s storm drain in Bonita Springs. Before that, a man went viral on TikTok for rescuing a hatchling from a sidewalk in the opposite direction of the beach.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, sea turtles usually make between 40,000 and 84,000 nests along Florida’s beaches. Females lay between 80 and 120 eggs in each nest.
Only one in 1,000 sea turtles typically reaches adulthood, according to the commission.
The source said beachfront properties can help by following turtle-friendly lighting guidelines. Beach-goers and tourists can also help by keeping beaches flat and reducing their own sources of artificial light.
Read more from GoodGoodGood.
