Two-headed sea turtle hatchling found at South Carolina park

A South Carolina sea turtle nest inventory made a rare discovery on Wednesday after a routine check. Patrollers found three loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings still in the chamber, but one, in particular, stood out – one of their findings had two heads.

South Carolina State Parks took to their Facebook page to tell their 150,000 followers to announce Edisto Beach State Park’s unusual find. They said:

“Three to five days after a sea turtle nest shows signs of a major emergence, we dig down to determine the success of the nest by counting the hatched eggs, unhatched eggs and on occasions also find live hatchlings.”

The State Park explained that the sea turtle hatchling’s condition was due to a genetic mutation before announcing that the workers released all three of them back into the ocean.

The post said a genetic mutation causes the hatchling’s condition. The patrol released all three of the hatchlings into the ocean.

Facebook users flocked to the comments to express appreciation that they released the sea turtles. One said, “So glad it was released! It doesn’t need to be a science project. Mother Nature will be!”

Another commented, “WOW! I’m so glad they sent it/them into the sea, to live a hopefully long life.”

While others were in awe of the inventory’s find. “Awesome find! Good job, turtle patrol”, One said, while another thanked them for their work, “Amazing Thank you for the work you do on Edisto.”

South Carolina’s state parks are renowned for providing affordable family-friendly fun for 75 years. They pride themselves as a base to connect with nature and with each other.