Pip arrived to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on September 28, 2019. This loggerhead sea turtle hatchling was found in its nest on St. Catherines Island when sea turtle biologists were conducting a nest inventory. A hatchling that is unable to make it out of its nest is called a straggler hatchling. Typically, biologists release straggler hatchlings right away; they walk the hatchlings closer to the ocean and let the turtles crawl into the water on their own. This of course did not happen with Pip. The Georgia Sea Turtle Center is permitted to keep one straggler sea turtle hatchling per year to serve as an educational ambassador for its species. This year, Pip was the turtle chosen to hold that honor!
Pip's nest was laid on July 19th and contained 86 ping pong ball-sized eggs. Out of these 86 eggs, only eight hatched; Pip was certainly one of the lucky ones in that regard! He/she was even luckier when we chose him/her to be our educational ambassador. Pip will be fed daily at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center and will be kept safe from predators over the next year in our care. In fact, this daily care has already allowed Pip to grow more than five times in weight over the last seven weeks! When he/she first arrived on September 28th, Pip weighed 18.6 grams (0.7 ounces); on Pip's weigh-in last week he/she was 104.7 grams (3.7 ounces)!
If all goes as we plan, Pip will be at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center until late next summer. At that point, we hope to release Pip into the Sargasso Sea - a place in the ocean where loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings spend the first several years of their lives. Over the many months between now and Pip's hopeful release, you will get to watch him/her grow, learn about the care we provide for Pip, and the conservation work we do at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. We hope you enjoy your adoption journey!
