Beach Cleanup Volunteers Find Rare, Endangered Sea Turtle Among 10,000 Pieces of Trash

The Kemp’s ridley sea turtle — the most endangered species of the reptile — had been hooked by an angler on a fishing pier in South Carolina

NEED TO KNOW

  • Volunteers taking part in a litter sweep in Folly Beach, S.C., found and rescued an endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle
  • The juvenile turtle had been hooked in the mouth by an angler, Dave Miller of Folly Beach Turtle Watch told local media outlet WCSC-TV
  • Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are the smallest, rarest and most endangered species of sea turtle

Volunteers picking up litter in Folly Beach, S.C., found an endangered sea turtle among the cigarette butts and cans they set out to collect.

The fifth annual Toby’s Earth Month Island-Wide Spring Litter Sweep took place in the city on Sunday, April 12, with residents, visitors, the South Carolina Aquarium and local community groups collecting pieces of trash from beaches, marshes and streets.

While sweeping the beach, organizers helped save a juvenile Kemp’s ridley sea turtle that had been hooked by an angler on the Folly Beach fishing pier…

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