She is already exhausted and needs to return to the ocean as quickly as possible. If she wanders too long on the beach, she may die of dehydration. In about 60 days, the eggs hatch. It is estimated that only a small number of hatchlings survive to adulthood. Raccoons sniff out the nests and dig up eggs within hours after they are laid.
Hatchlings fall prey to raccoons, ghost crabs, gulls, and a myriad of fish in alongshore waters.
Bright lights from vacation homes and condominiums near the beach disorient the hatchlings and cause them to turn away from the sea and also die of dehydration. Loggerhead sea turtles come ashore to nest from Florida to North Carolina. For 17 years, on Pritchards Island, the University of South Carolina Beaufort has sponsored a turtle conservation project manned by University staff and community volunteers. During this period, they have together protected hundreds of nests and helped thousands of hatchlings successfully make their precarious journey across the sands and into the sea.