VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A Loggerhead turtle nest in North End Beach yielded over 60 hatchlings.
On June 23, Virginia Aquarium volunteers found the nest while doing a routine beach check, according to the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center. The aquarium's response team moved the nest to the dunes to protect it from the tides. The team could tell it was a Loggerhead nest based on the markings in the sand.
The aquarium said they originally uncovered 129 eggs in the nest.
As the 90-day mark for the nest approached, aquarium volunteers waited by the nest every night so that they could notify the response team when the turtles began to hatched, according the Virginia Aquarium. The Virginia Aquarium Response Team is the only organization in the commonwealth allowed to handle the nests and ensure the hatchlings make it to the water safely.
The turtles hatched between Aug. 26 and 31, and 63 turtles were observed making they way to the water, according to the Virginia Aquarium. The nest boiled, a term used when multiple hatchlings surface at once, on Aug. 28, when 56 turtles hatched.
The aquarium said that the nest had an overall success rate of 62% with another presumed 16 turtles emerging when no team members were present.
On Sept. 1, the aquarium's team conducted a nest excavation where they found 79 hatched eggs, 49 unhatched eggs and one deceased hatchling, according to the Virginia Aquarium. One unhatched egg contained a live turtle which was later released from the nest after it hatched.
The aquarium said many of the other unhatched eggs had no signs of fertilization.
