TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (WSAV) – Although May 1st is the start of Sea Turtle Nesting Season, almost half the month went by with no nests for Tybee Island’s beaches. In the past few days, workers at the Tybee Marine Science Center have had their hands full.
Tybee’s first sea turtle nest of the season was found on May 17th, and a week later there are five nests that have been found on the island’s beaches.
The Marine Science Center says Tybee’s sea turtles decided to celebrate the recent holiday, as they laid 3 nests on Tuesday night, also known as World Turtle Day.
They say there are some important steps you can take to help keep this promising trend going for the endangered species if you visit Tybee’s beaches.
“If you happen to see a nest, feel free to take a look at it, just keep your distance, don’t try to dig the nest up. And whenever you’re on the beach and you’re playing it’s okay to dig sand castles, but once you’re done, tear down that sand castle, fill that hole back in, because when it’s time for the mamas to come on the beach or the babies to crawl to the ocean, they want a smooth pathway to lead them to the ocean,” says Tybee Marine Science Center Operations Director, Beth Palmer.
Palmer also encourages you to come out and say goodbye to Ike, the center’s resident adult sea turtle, as he is reaching the end of his stay at the center and will be released back into the wild in the next couple of months.