GARDEN CITY (WBTW) – The South Carolina Department of Natural Resource confirms South Carolina’s first green sea turtle nest of the season in Garden City.

According to a Facebook post, SCDNR says their biologist suspect it is the same female that nested in 2010, 2012 and 2014.  Once genetic analysis is completed, SCDNR will be able to confirm this.

On July 28, 1978, the green sea turtle, the second largest, was designated as endangered for the breeding colony populations in Florida and on the Pacific coast of Mexico. On July 28, 1978, the green sea turtle was designated as threatened in areas found except where listed as endangered.They get their name from the color of their fat, not their shells, which are grayish in older animals. Green turtles are herbivorous and remain near pastures of turtle grasses, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resource website.

Atlantic green turtle nesting facts:

  • Nesting: June – September
  • Adult females are on average 101.5 cm straight carapace length
  • Nocturnal nesters, symmetrical crawl
  • Mean number of clutches per season 5
  • Internesting interval: 10-17 days
  • Remigration interval: 2-3 years
  • Width of Crawl = 100 cm
  • Mean sizes of eggs are 4.5 cm in diameter, 46 g in mass and 46 cc in volume
  • Mean clutch count 135 eggs
  • Mean incubation duration is 63 days but ranges from 53 to 81 days

(Source: SCDNR)