EDISTO BEACH, S.C. — A conservationist with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources says dozens of newly hatched sea turtles were recently found dead outside of an Edisto Beach gas station.
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Marine Turtle Conservation Coordinator Michelle Pate told local news outlets that the deaths were likely caused by white lights being left on by the beach.
In at least four recently hatched nests, turtles have headed toward land instead of the water.
Pate said the turtles can mistake the light for the horizon and head towards the road instead of the ocean after hatching.
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Officials are tracking 5,200 nests along the state’s coast, and more than 200 of those have hatched.