More than 100 Baby Sea Turtles Found Dead in North Myrtle Beach as a Result of Hurricane Isaias Storm Surge

More than 100 Baby Sea Turtles Found Dead in North Myrtle Beach as a Result of Hurricane Isaias Storm Surge

“Mother Nature can be unpredictable and cruel at times.”

Sadly, not every baby animal was lucky enough to be rescued by dedicated firefighters like these Florida ducklings amid Tropical Storm Isaias’ deadly charge up the eastern seaboard earlier this week.

With sustained winds of 85 mph, Isaias made landfall in the Carolinas late Monday night as a Category 1 hurricane. As a result of the storm surge, more than one hundred baby sea turtles on North Myrtle Beach appeared to have drowned, Myrtle Beach Sun News reports.

Members of the North Myrtle Beach Sea Turtle Patrol were up early Tuesday morning to check on the 10 protected turtle nests in the Cherry Grove section of the beach.

Inspecting their first nest, the crew discovered 115 dead sea turtles.

Volunteers had been keeping a close eye on the nest, which was on day 58 of incubation, and believed the hatchlings were just waiting to emerge when the storm hit.

“They either suffocated or drowned last night,” Myrtle Beach Sea Turtle Patrol leader Linda Mataya told The Sun News. “The hatchlings were ready to emerge, but apparently, they were all ready last night when the surge hit.”

According to North Myrtle Beach Spokesperson Pat Dowling, it was estimated that Cherry Grove was under at least four feet of water at some point during the evening high tide.

“Mother Nature can be unpredictable and cruel at times,” one volunteer told WSPA.

Mataya said each nest was marked with poles and cages, but they were unable to locate the cage on this particular nest. After some digging, her crew found the turtle cage under about a foot of sand. Of the 121 eggs laid in the nest, 112 were completely hatched and had drowned.

Volunteers did, however, find three live hatchlings nearby, close to the water.