Stories1 min(s) read
Published 16:03 20 Oct 2020 GMT
A rare white baby sea turtle has been discovered on a South Carolina beach as the state's turtle season draws to a close.
The discovery was made by volunteers who were checking sea turtle nests when they happened upon the baby animal in the sand.
News of the rare turtle's discovery was broken on Facebook by Kiawah Island, who revealed that it was found by the Kiawah Island Turtle Patrol on Sunday.
[[facebookwidget||https://www.facebook.com/townofkiawahisland/posts/1729625273878404]]
The town wrote on its Facebook page: "This morning, our Kiawah Island Turtle Patrol #kitp , [sic] Zone 8, inventoried the last nest on the island. #338.
"You can imagine the excited 'oohs' and the 'aah's' from the guests, including some @collegeofcharleston students, when the patroller found a lone, leucistic hatchling in the nest. (Leucism is a condition where animals have reduced pigmentation.)
[[facebookwidget||https://www.facebook.com/townofkiawahisland/photos/pcb.1729625273878404/1729625127211752]]
The town explained that the turtle is believed to have a genetic condition called leucism, which causes reduced pigmentation.
They wrote: "Leucism is different from albinism as albino animals have a complete loss of pigment, leaving them completely white with red or pink eyes."
The Olive Ridley Project, a sea turtle conservation group, wrote on its website that while Leucism is a very rare condition, it's not known how often it occurs in wild sea turtles.
[[facebookwidget||https://www.facebook.com/townofkiawahisland/photos/pcb.1729625273878404/1729625130545085]]
The conservation group then explained how white turtles have a much slimmer chance of survival than their counterparts with camouflage.
To put the dangers faced by baby turtles into context, these baby turtles were eaten immediately after release:
[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/JHjEBMNL-sKUnNGKf.mp4||JHjEBMNL]]
"Leucism is an abnormal genetic defect, and not a useful one," the Olive Ridley Project wrote. "Camouflage is important to all animals, particularly very small sea turtle hatchlings that are predated on by almost everything. So, to be born white makes you stand out and very visible to predators."
[[facebookwidget||https://www.facebook.com/townofkiawahisland/photos/pcb.1729625273878404/1729625127211752/]]
As per ABC15 News, the island's turtle season lasts from May 1 to October 31, and South Carolina had a record-breaking season in 2019, with a whopping 8,802 nests recorded.
Four types of sea turtle call the state's beaches their home: loggerheads, greens, Kemp's ridleys, and leatherbacks.
The SCDNR, a marine turtle conservation program, said that all four species are currently endangered or threatened and therefore protected under the Endangered Species Act.
