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MANTEO, N.C.
Park officials on the North Carolina coast are seeking information after a nesting female loggerhead turtle was hit and killed by an off-road vehicle.
The National Park Service said on Friday that the turtle was killed on Ocracoke Island during the night between June 23 and 24. It was found by a turtle patrol around 6:10 p.m. on Thursday.
The park service said the turtle crawled out of the ocean and tried to lay a nest between ramps 70 and 72 on the island, which is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Under a court-approved consent decree, off-road vehicles are prohibited on the beach from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. during the turtle nesting season.
Loggerhead turtles are protected under the Endangered Species Act and are listed as threatened.
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How does...
...the turle patrol get round?
We could avoid further
We could avoid further tragedies by banning umbrellas from the beach:
Beach-goer hospitalized after being run over, pinned under truck
MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - A Myrtle Beach man was taken to the hospital Friday after a truck transporting rental chairs and umbrellas ran him over and pinned him between the vehicle's bottom and the sand.
Myrtle Beach first responders were called to the scene near Eighth Avenue North around 1:30 p.m., according to MBPD Lt. Doug Furlong.
According to the police report, a Huggins Beach Service truck ran over the sunbather on the beach Friday afternoon. The report states that the driver started to turn around to go south and stopped to look at the water. When he started again he heard a noise under the truck and discovered he had run over the man.
A witness said the truck had been driving along the beach in circles making sure everyone had paid for the equipment when the driver ran over the 35-year-old man.
The witness, who was from Whitmire, SC, said the victim was still under the truck when she ran to the scene and asked others to help lift it off him, but emergency responders urged the crowd not to do so and ordered air bags to he
I have been on the OBX beaches
many times in my ORV and I have never damaged anything. This whole movement against not driving on the beach is insane. I am sorry the turtle was killed because I do love and respect wildlife but some of these people commenting act like this is the crime of the century. I doubt very seriously it was intentional. If no one saw this occur how is it known that a vehicle, at the wrong time hit the turtle anyway?
Loggerheads and National Seashores
If Jeff and Gregg can pause long enough, they might acknowledge that the National Seashore makes an effort to allow those vehicles to operate at the same time there is an effort to permit the Loggerheads to reproduce. That's why the ORVs are prohibited AFTER 10PM, particularly in June and July when eggs are laid and/or hatchlings return to the sea. My self-righteous self tells me that the operator of the vehicle disregarded the law. As far as the Gulf spill is concerned, rules for operating the rig were disregarded by the operators AND the government, leading to the death of 11 workers, threatening the future livelihood of thousands of Americans, and the continuation of ocean life for unknown decades. We have been aware, for more than 35 years, that our economy would be well served to move to alternative fuels and energy resources to reduce an ever-growing domestic dependency on oil. We're long overdue to move forward. I think the National Seashore approach is reasonable and those that violate the rules or resort to name calling offer unreasonable arguments.
Turtles
I saw one trying to cross Battlefield Blvd the other evening. I wonder if it made it across safely...
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that cute winter coat, your watch band, your favorite boots...most of them came at the expense of another creature. Open your freezer and take a peak inside. Review the ingredients of the Marie Callender or Kashi or other favorite frozen meal. And remember the next time you have dinner that with each bite your teeth are tearing through the flesh just like the All Terrain Tires of a Murderous SUV. There's nothing quite as infuriating as the ignorance of a self-righteous hypocrite.
We all impact the environment, so don't be self-righteous
Some of you who have commented have obviously never been on the shore of the Outer Banks and seen vehicles on the beach. It's apparent you have a mental image of monster trucks racing through the dunes and along the beach kicking up sand in a plume as the driver and passengers chuck beer bottles by the case at the innocent children and wildlife as they run for cover. That's not how it is. I won't bother to waste my time trying to sway your opinion, as it's impossible to educate a know it all. I will say that WE ALL have an impact on our environment. Perhaps you should perform a personal assessment of the impact your lifestyle has on our planet. The death of this particular animal only bothers you because it is IN YOUR FACE. Everyday that you live in America with your American lifestyle has a huge impact on the environment. Your clothes, your car, your food, your shelter all came at the expense of something, and in some cases the expense of someone. It's so easy to pass judgement on an individual or a situation that falls outside of your range of normal activities. Do a little research on how many cute little critters died for the shoes in your closet, that cute winter coa
Peebles and bam bam
So glad you recognize the over population...are volunteering to jump in a volcano and make one less human to do damage to the world? When this turtles eggs hatched would sit there and pellet gun to death every Sea bird that eats the hatchlings as they make there way toward the seas...including your precious ( and very Tasty ) piping plover? Life is hard..especially for the animal kingdom. I bet some of these animal lovers on here helped jab needles into the animals that peta put down. This was a accident ! Just like penicillin and teflon.
Just one more turtle
After all, we killed "just one more turtle." I'm always amazed when someone wants to defend the use of off road vehicles(ORVs) but can't defend protection of nesting, endangered creatures. Generations of Americans enjoyed the quiet escape to serene beaches before we developed this penchant for invading every open, natural space by thrill-seeking invaders driving noisy vehicles. Believe it or not, business can thrive where vehicles are excluded (two examples: Mackinac Island, Michigan and Zermatt, Switzerland). Death of this one turtle serves to underscore what a ruthless species we humans are. ATVs and ORVs have accounted for the deaths of 40 Americans in April and 14 children in May, and now, one female Loggerhead, who could lay a clutch of eggs only once, every 2-3 years, after she has already survived to reach maturity after 15-30 years. The likely death of thousands of them in the Gulf of Mexico testifies to how reckless we are in our quest to exploit nature. That quest threatens the death of an entire way of live for thousands of Americans.
So are we to assume...
that you don't drive a car, ride a bus, plane, train and since bicycles are made by materials that are processed by oil, coal or gas you don't ride a bike and since anything else with wheels is made by a like manufacturing process, you don't use any mode of transportation except your feet. Of course your feet are bare because all cheap shoes are made of man made products that require use of fossil fuels. People are killed doing everyday activities everyday. There's not a day that goes by that people are not killed earning a living. Businesses that cater to off road vehicles can really thrive in a nice warm beach climate where they can drive on the beach. Michigan and Switzerland have a cold climate that is not very good for riding on the beach and going for a swim, surf-casting or working on your tan. How many cows, chickens, pigs and fish have YOU eaten? Have you ever heard the scream of a tall pine while it's being cut down?