Two Leatherback sea turtle nests discovered on Cape Hatteras National Seashore
For the first time since record-keeping began, (a roughly 20-year time period), two Leatherback sea turtles have decided to nest on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore (CHNS) during the 2024 summer season, per a Monday update from CHNS.
“The two nests were found exactly one week apart,” stated the CHNS update. “The first Leatherback nest was found in Avon on June 19 and the second nest was found on Ocracoke Island on June 26. Last year, the Seashore had one Leatherback nest which successfully hatched!”
Since sea turtle nesting has been actively monitored, (and prior to the two new nests in 2024), there have only been seven leatherback sea turtle nests within the National Seashore, and only three have successfully hatched in the following years and locations:
- 2023: Ocracoke Island
- 2007: Ocracoke Island
- 2002: Hatteras Island
- 2000: Hatteras Island
Leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) are classified as endangered at both the federal and state levels. They are known to migrate great distances, often traversing entire ocean basins several times a year in search of their preferred food, jellyfish.
Female Leatherbacks typically lay between 4-8 clutches in a season, nesting approximately every 10 days. Given this pattern, it’s highly likely that both nests belong to the same female, according to CHNS.
As another highly active nesting season progresses, visitors are advised to be aware of sea turtle nesting activity while visiting the local Outer Banks beaches, and to take a couple of steps to protect the wave of sea turtle nests that are now cropping up on a regular basis.
- Please fill in any holes in the sand, and remove beach equipment, (such as umbrellas and tents), from the beach when you leave, to provide a clear route for sea turtles who are heading to the shoreline to lay their eggs
- If you see turtle tracks, nesting activity, or hatchlings, please notify CHNS biologists by calling 252-216-6892.
Multiple sea turtles have nested for multiple years, upon the Outer Banks. The locals know more than you will ever know. Our recorded history goes back quite far, it goes back before the beginning of America, actually it is just a testy subject about the beginning of America. The Outer Banks of North Carolina, that is!