This week on turtle patrol, a Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association patrol volunteer was stunned to discover a very unusual hatchling. On rare occasion, an anomaly such as this poses a unique challenge for the sea turtle permit holder. The permit holder is solely responsible for the livelihood of each and every sea turtle, from nesting adult females to unhatched incubating eggs. Hatchlings require careful treatment and monitoring. It is unlawful to interfere, disturb, transport, photograph, and handle sea turtle hatchlings without a permit.

The Boca Grande Sea Turtle Patrol Team volunteers patrol the beach zones watching over the nests and care for them as needed. When the sea turtle season grows to a close, they also document the number of hatchlings hatched and unhatched, the number of hatchlings destroyed, and the number of dead and alive hatchlings in the nests and count the total of all the eggs in the nests. The patrol mainly documents the activity of the loggerhead sea turtle, but has recently documented an uptick in green sea turtle nests as well. The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta) is easily distinguished by its relatively large head. The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) gets its name from the greenish color of its body fat and has the presence of a pair of scales on the front of its forehead. The loggerhead and the green sea turtle alike create specific tracks in the sand providing clues for identification.