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Kemp’s ridley sea turtle found dead on Walton County beach, entangled in beach chair

A Kemp's ridley sea turtle was found dead on a Walton County beach entangled in a beach chair left behind.
Photos courtesy of South Walton Turtle Watch

A Kemp’s ridley sea turtle was found dead on a Walton County beach entangled in a beach chair, South Walton Turtle Watch said in a Facebook post. The Kemp’s ridley is the rarest sea turtle species in the world.

“This one hurts,” wrote Lacie Wegner, president of South Walton Turtle Watch, in the post. “In my 15 years of sea turtle conservation, as a volunteer, permit holder, and now president of South Walton Turtle Watch, this is one of the most heartbreaking and disturbing things I have ever seen, especially on Walton County beaches.”

Wegner said the turtle had survived predators, pollution, fishing gear, boats, storms and other threats in the ocean before washing ashore entangled in the chair.

  • “Looking at these photos, I’m heartbroken. I’m angry. And frankly, I’m disgusted,” Wegner wrote. “Because this wasn’t bad luck. This wasn’t nature taking its course. This was preventable.”

The organization regularly promotes its #CleanDarkFlat campaign, which urges beachgoers to remove chairs, tents, toys and other items from the sand at the end of the day. Wegner said the death is the reason the group continues to push the message.

“Every chair left behind. Every tent. Every toy. Every obstacle left on a beach has the potential to become a deadly trap for wildlife,” she wrote. “We ask for #CleanDarkFlat because these animals already face enough challenges without having to navigate ours too.”

Wegner said the group will continue its advocacy.

“After everything she survived, this is a battle she never should have had to fight,” Wegner wrote. “This is why we will never stop pushing #CleanDarkFlat. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not ever.”

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3 Responses

  1. 😢This is so sad. After seeing all that the Gulfarium does to rehabilitate other turtles, this is frustrating.

  2. my hope is that someway that chair can be traced to the owner who needs to see that picture

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