Marriage Proposal Kills 60 Baby Turtles

:cry:

Marriage Proposal Kills 60 Baby Turtles

Updated: Friday, 25 Sep 2009, 2:18 PM CDT

(MYFOX NATIONAL) - A couple who was celebrating their engagement on the beach in Hilton Head, S.C., on Wednesday inadvertently killed 60 baby turtles.

The Hilton Head Island Packet reports that the couple and their friends had set up about 150 white luminarias -- paper bags with candles inside -- on the beach in the shape of a heart. Loggerhead turtle hatchlings instinctively follow moonlight toward the ocean where they are supposed to go shortly after they are born. But instead officials believe the lighting threw the turtles off.

Hilton Head natural resources associate Sarah Skigen, who was on daily sea turtle patrol early Wednesday, noticed turtle tracks headed in all directions except for the ocean. Many tracks encircled the luminarias where the baby turtles either died or were eaten by ghost crabs.

Skigen said the couple was distraught when they found out what they had done.

"The people were regretful," Skigen said. "They'd just gotten engaged and were bombarded with a lot of people yelling at them."

:grr:

The baby turtle hatching and walking to the ocean happens for a week in a year, if I'm correct.

They nest through June and July and hatch in about 60 days, so no, it doesn't happen in the span of a week. Here on the Florida coast, the rule is to keep all shoreline lights (homes, restaurants, flashlights on the beach) off until October 31st to protect hatchlings from such a fate.

Apparently the man who was proposing didn't know about it.
http://www.examiner.com/x-1028-Pet-News-Examiner~y2009m9d26-Man-kills-60-baby-sea-turtles-while-proposing

turles could've foreseen that. And they felt bad about it. They didn't deserve to be yelled at.

If you don't know where something is. You're going to play hell finding it. Building must be natural colors to blend into the wooded back ground. Everything is tan, brown, and green. I think it's a 500.00 fine for feeding the crocodiles. That's like the first thing they tell you when you set foot in the Island. The second thing they tell you is that they come up out of the water at 35 mph. The third thing they tell you is about the last person that was attacked by one. Hilton Head is where all the die hard hardcore tree hugging PETA people live. These people have an unnatural obsession with nature.

"Unnatural obsession" - you show your bias.

Don't get me wrong. Hilton Head is a beautiful place. It's a real nice place to visit. But I couldn't live there. When you consider I was born and raised in the city. Yes to me they appear to have an unnatural obsession with nature. You damn near have to do an impact study and get three different permits before you can fart.

There attention to nature is primarily in the form of well-manicured gold courses. Some trees and ponds but nothing that seemed the least bit natural or organic. Sure it was very bucolic, but very antiseptic. Sort of a yuppie golf developers idea of "nature".

And of course they have consigned any history to oblivion.

A lot of poor people of whatever color lived on this island not that long ago. There were scam agents that offered things like color TV's to these people at extreme credit terms that in fine print signed over the land. Those smart enough not to take the "deals?" Well, their property was eventually just condemned.

Yes it is sterile.

There is a place called CoCo's on the beach though that is outstanding. PM me for details if you are going to be in the area. (You can't get there from the street.}

maybe the couple never had been, either. I understand people being upset, but if this is such a sensitive area, and such a small window of time when this event happens, maybe somebody should've been there to stop them. Not knowing that baby turtles follow the moon is not the same as trying to feed a crocodile.

I don't see how they managed to set all that up on a beach without someone noticing and complaining. My God the Mayor tried to tell Bill Clinton he couldn't land Marine One on the beach in front of his Condo there. I was in the waiting room of the Mayors office when the SS was in there ripping him a new one.

Palin could drive a tank through a dune if she wanted. You understand...rich, white, southerners hated, hate, will continue to hate, Bill Clinton. Right?

You actually thought the denial was because of environmental concerns? Really? :rofl:

Greener than most urban centers, but it looks as built up and manufactured as any one of thousands of high end residential areas around the country.

Well. I live in the neighboring town of Bluffton anyway. I really don't see HHI as being particularly nature conscious. Beyond trying to get daisies and other non-native plants to grow in nice little rows...that is. Most of the nature around here is about as natural as a bonsai tree. The tree cover you noted and limited signage on the "main drag" is more a matter of aesthetics then any real concern for nature.

The bike trails are nice...but I realize they are primarily designed as golf cart trails for the denizens of this area. I sometimes refer to this area as "God's Waiting Room." The median age of even the bagboys and cart-herders here is probably 75.

From what I've seen GA is much better at conservation. And, yes. I have lived there as well. They have some very conscientious efforts at keeping the barrier islands intact. They have an active beach patrol during sea turtle nesting season on Tybee Island, GA just to the south and a very conspicuous public advocacy of no beach lights during certain times of the year.

Even Hunting Island Beach, to the north of Hilton Head Is is better at preservation. Saying HHI is good at preserving a barrier island is like saying that Las Vegas is a good example of preserving the ecology of the desert.

If memory serves me correctly Bluffton is that lil tiny speed trap town right before you get on the island. There are several towns before you get to Hilton Head that look like they were farming towns decades and decades ago. It almost reminded me of Maryland's eastern shore before you get to Ocean City or even Virginia Beach.

They are NOT ecologically conscious here. Not at all really.

Lights out is a law and it is up to the people who visit, even the rich ones from the NE to comply. Start fining people and this will pretty much stop.

If that section of beach is a recognized turtle nesting location, the party should have been moved to a more suitable spot.

:(

I have a Texas desert tortoise (gopherus berlandieri) that I found walking across the street in my California neighborhood (must have been an escaped pet). They're wonderful animals and not as dumb as some people might think. It actually is able to show affection, it loves to be petted, and can communicate to let me know when it wants to go outside or eat. It comes back inside the house on its own every day at about the same time. Chelonians are very old species from before the dinosaurs and I hope our current out-of-control disrespect for the planet doesn't wipe them out.

your turtle maybe a little bit more trained than my puppy lol

This marriage is doomed.

Maybe they can hang around for the next hatching time and drive away 60 seagulls that are looking for dinner -- that is also prohibited. :crazy:

luminarias unattended after the party, overnight. Even without turtles around, people who don't clean up after themselves deserve to feel like shit...

that is just basic responsibility/politeness. Seems like the couple or somebody in the party would've taken that upon themselves. That is what strikes me about this story - that even with so many "should have beens," accidents still happen.

I'm also a little surprised that this nest and beach area wasn't being monitored by the The Sea Turtle Project better. Its HHI ordinace that lights must be shielded from May to October.

Sad all the way around.

It's all in how you look at things

He would have gotten away with it if not for you meddling kids.

There's tons of them on most Carolina beaches.

And I've never known a dog that was able to catch one. They just scurry down their holes that are all over the place, leaving the dog very confused.

Of course Scooby did have special powers but still . . .

Ruh roh. ;)

Spectral crabs sliding in and out of visibility as they slowly scuttle across trackless sand. During the new moon all you hear is the soft clicking of dead claws.


I watch way too many movies.

Sorry, this was careless and should have been avoided but it's strictly circle of life stuff. A lightning strike could have had the same result and probably does from time to time. Besides, it's meaningless without knowing how many turtles normally cross the beach. 100? 600? 6000?

:cry: