Memorial Day Stranding in Cherry Grove

On Memorial Day, a leatherback sea turtle washed up on the beach just north of the Cherry Grove Pier.

Steve and Barb responded to the call from SC-DNR to identify the animal.

After speaking with DuBose Griffin and confirming that the turtle was a leatherback - a very endangered turtle - they decided to come to North Myrtle Beach to necropsy the turtle. Because these turtles rarely wash up on our shores, any additional data is valuable.


















This is the latin name for the leatherback.










DuBose assessed the turtle as a juvenile, even though it was about 6 feet long! An adult could be almost twice that big.


Here she is spraying the carapace with orange paint. This is done so that if the turtle were to be found again (at sea, in a landfill, buried, etc.), it would not be reported as a new find.

After measurements were taken and recorded, the turtle was rolled over with the help of a couple of bystanders. Help was definitely needed; this turtle was probably 500 to 600 pounds.

Finally, Dr. Shane Boylan, a veterinarian from the SC Aquarium, started the necropsy. Not the most pleasant smell as you can tell from the boy holding his hat over his nose.

The final report on this turtle was that it had a longline hook in its small intestine with several feet of monofilament trailing behind it.