Rare, white baby sea turtle crawls into sea from Outer Banks nest, park service says

A baby loggerhead sea turtle with a rare “genetic deviation” hatched on the Outer Banks and crawled into the Atlantic Ocean in July, according to the National Park Service.

The turtle, which looks albino, is a “leucistic” loggerhead, meaning its coloration is mostly white, according to a post on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s Instagram. Loggerhead hatchlings are usually very dark brown or gray, according to The Turtle Hospital.

Animals that are born albino lack melanin and have pink eyes, according to the post. But animals with leucism still have some pigmentation, and their eyes are often a normal color.

Biologists found the leucistic hatchling at the bottom of a nest on July 27, according to the park service. They released it, and it crawled into the sea.

Biologists usually see only a few leucistic turtles per year.

Loggerhead turtles are considered a vulnerable species, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

Five sea turtle species can be found along the Cape Hatteras seashore, including leatherbacks, hawksbills, Kemp’s ridleys, loggerheads and greens. Cape Hatteras National Seashore is about 250 miles east of Raliegh.

Nesting season lasts from May through October, when female turtles return to the same beaches where they hatched to dig nests in the sand and lay their eggs, according to the national seashore.

Anyone who sees a turtle or a nest in the seashore area is asked to call the national seashore at 252-216-6892.

This story was originally published August 4, 2022 at 7:10 PM with the headline "Rare, white baby sea turtle crawls into sea from Outer Banks nest, park service says."