Stray dog kills 23 baby sea turtles after they hatched on Florida beach

A stray dog massacred 23 newly hatched sea turtles on a North Florida beach just hours after the babies emerged from their nests, sparking calls for locals to leash their pets.

The tiny carcasses were discovered during a routine survey by the Beaches Sea Turtle Patrol in Atlantic Beach, officials announced in an August 21 Facebook post.

The slaughter occurred near Second Street as the vulnerable hatchlings made their first desperate crawl toward the ocean, investigators say.

Evidence at the gruesome scene pointed to an unleashed pet as the culprit behind the carnage.

“Twenty-three sea turtle hatchlings … found dead near Second Street in Atlantic Beach likely were killed by an unleashed dog as the hatchlings emerged from their nest,” Atlantic Beach officials reported.

Details about the specific turtle species killed in the Atlantic Beach massacre were not released by investigators. The incident occurred at a beach located approximately 15 miles east of Jacksonville.

The massacre represents a devastating blow to conservation efforts.

“Every nest counts because scientists estimate that only one in 1,000 hatchlings reach adulthood,” the city emphasized.

All five species of sea turtles found in Florida waters are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act.

The endangered and threatened sea turtle species in Florida are also protected under state statues.

The waters surrounding the state serve as home to loggerhead, green, leatherback, Kemp’s Ridley and Hawksbill turtles.

The suspected canine remains at large, prompting Atlantic Beach officials to issue an urgent plea for beachgoers to photograph and report any loose dogs to police immediately.

The timing of the attack makes it particularly heartbreaking. Sea turtles typically come ashore to dig their nests on beaches, with eggs incubating for approximately 60 days in the sun-warmed sand, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“When the tiny turtles are ready to hatch out, they do so virtually in unison, creating a scene in the sandy nest that is reminiscent of a pot of boiling water,” NOAA explains.

The synchronized hatching process, known by the term “turtle boils,” sees the vulnerable babies emerge together before making their perilous journey down the beach slope toward the reflecting moonlight and stars on the ocean’s surface.

“Hatching and moving to the sea all at the same time help the little critters overwhelm waiting predators, which include sea birds, foxes, raccoons, and wild dogs,” according to experts.

The attack comes just weeks after another devastating incident struck turtle nests in nearby Ponte Vedra Beach.

Several nests were destroyed by a “collarless dog” about seven miles south of Atlantic Beach, with paw prints found around the targeted locations.

“Fortunately, only a few eggs were lost from each (nest),” Mickler’s Landing Turtle Patrol reported in an August 6 Facebook post following that earlier incident.

Conservation groups have since installed protective screens over remaining nests to prevent future attacks from predators.

Officials stress that well-behaved dogs can still pose threats to nesting sites and hatchlings.

The patrol group responsible for monitoring the nests works to protect all five endangered species that use Florida’s coastline for reproduction. Their surveys help track nesting success and identify threats to the protected populations.