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Loggerhead turtles are one of the wonders of nature in the Lowcountry, but they are vulnerable, very vulnerable to human activity.

“Our loggerheads are bigger than the loggerheads in Florida, and so they are definitely DNA tested and they are a different subspecies,” said Barbara Bergwerf, Island Turtle Team member.

That's why there's a petition to get the Loggerheads off the South Carolina coast, a separate listing, possibly as endangered due to the hazards they face.

“We see a lot of different injuries, we see entanglement injuries.  In fact we had two adult males last year with crab trap rope entanglements, and one we had to amputate the flipper,” said Kelly Thorvalson, Sea Turtle Rescue Program Coordinator, South Carolina Aquarium.

“We have a real problem as the Island Turtle Team with the development, the lights on the houses and also with debris left on the beach,” said Bergwerf.

There are plenty of hurdles for the Loggerheads to clear.

“Nesting protection started in the early eighties and so we would just now really be seeing the efforts of those protection strategies,” said Thorvalson.

“The boys and girls are out there, getting together,” said Bergwerf.

Love is in the air.  Well at least out in the ocean for the Loggerhead sea turtles, it's their mating season. 

Within about a month the females will crawl across the beach, head up toward the dunes, and clear some sand for their nests.

“The Loggerheads don't mature until they're maybe 25 to 35 years old.  That's part of the problem.  They aren't able to replace themselves in the population until they are an average of 30-years-old,” said Thorvalson.

If Carolina Loggerheads get a special classification, it should certainly spell a healthier population farther in the future, but what about this nesting season?

“Sally Murphy who is the retired head of the sea turtle program makes an estimate each year and it's an educated guess.  She figures what she thinks relative to last year and previous years nesting, she thinks we'll have a good year,” said Bergwerf.

Be aware, turtle nesting season begins May 15, and they can hatch as late as Halloween.

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