Topsail Island is a nesting ground for the Loggerhead sea turtle. These giants of the sea, weighing between 250 and 400 pounds, nest from mid-May to mid-August. They come ashore and deposit approximately 120 eggs in each nest. The nesting females leave a distinctive pattern of flipper marks or tracts in the sand which should be reported to the Topsail Island Turtle Project. The nest sites must be left undisturbed to incubate for 55 to 65 days at which time the hatchlings will emerge to begin their perilous journey.

For additional information or to report sightings of tracks or turtles, call the Topsail Turtle Project at 329-1000. Also be sure to visit the Loggerhead Exhibit and experience the weekly turtle talks at Surf City Town Hall or visit the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center in Topsail Beach, the only facility of this kind in North Carolina.

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