On summer nights, giant female loggerhead turtles haul themselves out of the ocean and up to the soft sand of Georgia’s beaches to lay their eggs. A few weeks later, their nests erupt as the tiny hatchlings break out of their shells and dig up through the sand, to skitter down the beach to the ocean.
In 2004, a low point, there were only 358 nests. This summer had more than seven times that.
It’s been another good year for the threatened sea turtles that nest here. The Southeast is one of the global hot spots for loggerhead turtles, and in recent years, their nesting numbers have been looking more promising.
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