20 Jul 7 Fun Facts About Sea Turtles in Myrtle Beach

7 Fun Facts About Sea Turtles in Myrtle Beach

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. Be sure to make a Myrtle Beach dolphin tour one of your things to do in Myrtle Beach. The Blue Wave Adventures team offers a one-of-a-kind eco-friendly dolphin watch experience, not only offering you some of the best views of dolphins but a view that is safe for the sea creatures and the environment as well. But did you know that there are other sea creatures that you might see on your Myrtle Beach dolphin tour?

Loggerhead sea turtles are a revered official state reptile for the state of South Carolina. And, since they are endangered, the Blue Wave Adventures team takes steps to help protect their safety. However, this concern for these fascinating creatures extends far beyond the Blue Wave team, too, as various organizations across the state and United States as a whole take steps to protect the nesting, hatching, and overall safety of the sea turtle.

And sea turtles are a common sight during a Myrtle Beach dolphin watch. So, before you take off one of the many dolphin tour options available to you, we thought you might like to know a handful of fun facts. This way, the next time you spot a sea turtle, you’ll know a bit more about what you’re looking at.

1.  Female loggerhead turtles will travel miles and miles, often in the thousands, to return to the beach where she has previously hatched a baby. And, once she does, she’ll lay nearly 100 eggs in a nest, usually under cover of the evening darkness.
2.  Nesting takes place every two to three years, and eggs are laid four times per season. Female sea turtles lay nests during May through mid-August. The eggs incubate for approximately 45 to 60 days, and the babies start to emerge between July through October.
3. Female turtles will spend under two hours on the beach before returning to the ocean, and they won’t revisit the nest. Mother sea turtles never come on land for any other reason, unless sick or injured, and thus the babies are left to fend for themselves.
4.  Once the baby loggerheads hatch, they will start the journey to their ocean home. Unfortunately, only one in 1,000 baby sea turtles survive the trip or make it to their fully mature age of 20 to 25. This low survival rate is just one reason why loggerhead turtles are endangered. Further, this is one of the primary reasons why the state of South Carolina and various organizations have made it their mission to avoid letting these creatures make it to extinction.
5. The average weight of a mature loggerhead sea turtle is approximately 253 pounds, which is far more than the average human adult male that weighs 197.9 pounds. Further, the typical length of a sea turtle is three feet, and they will live to over 50 years.
6. As loggerhead sea turtles grow, it makes more sense as to why they are called loggerhead. Their heads are anchored by a strong jaw that can crush food quite easily.
7. At this point, more loggerhead sea turtles are swimming in the waters of the United States than any other sea turtle species.