Local group seeks help in finding who painted the shell of a turtle at the Port Royal wetlands
By Delayna Earley
The Island News
The Cypress Wetlands and Rookery is full of beautiful wildlife, but while on a walk through the wetlands to enjoy the natural beauty, one local woman saw something that should not have been there.
On Thursday, May 2, Jenn Clementoni, made a post using the Friends of the Port Royal Cypress Wetlands Facebook page seeking information from the public about a turtle that appears to have been removed from its habitat and the number “24” painted on its shell.
Clementoni, who is the vice president of the nonprofit organization that supports and promotes the wetlands, said that she was walking through the wetlands along the boardwalk when she saw the adult yellowed-bellied slider marked with white paint in what she thinks was potentially part of a senior prank.
While their first thought is that this was likely part of a social media-fueled senior prank, they have no way of knowing that for sure.
The incident happened on Tuesday, April 30, and Clementoni has been back several times since then and has not been able to relocate the turtle, but she said that didn’t surprise her given the large number of turtles in the wetlands.
Clementoni and other members from the group who were with her called the Port Royal Police Department and S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) to alert them of the vandalism.
“We were told that the Port Royal Police will be monitoring the wetlands more closely,” Clementoni said. “Part of the beauty of the Lowcountry is that we have places like this around, but we have to make sure to respect the wildlife and not take it for granted.”
Andrew Grosse, SCDNR Statewide Herpetologist, said that “this activity is unethical, illegal for protected species and may make them more susceptible to predators,” in a statement to The Island News.
Clementoni and the group took to social media to ask the community for help in identifying those who were responsible, posting that tips could be given anonymously without questions asked. Additionally, the post addressed why this act is such a serious issue.
For starters, the post warns the public against disturbing or removing any wildlife from the wetlands.
“In South Carolina, depending on what it is, harassing or removing any wildlife can come with a big fine,” Clementoni said.
The area is protected, and the birds are nesting, any unnatural disturbance could cause the birds to abandon their nests that are filled with eggs or their chicks due to “people trespassing in the waters.”
Clementoni also said that the birds are not the only animals procreating right now. It is also mating season for the alligators that live in the wetlands, which means that they are a lot more territorial and dangerous than other times of the year.
“Gators, gators, gators … whoever did this, well your story could have ended with not such a great outcome,” the post on Facebook read.
Additionally, being removed from its habitat, having its shell painted and then being put back is traumatic for the turtle.
“As you can see, water did not wash off the paint,” Clementoni said. “Who knows what kind of paint they used and how that paint is going to affect the health of the turtle and other animals in the wetlands.”
Clementoni said that while she hopes that people visiting the wetlands keep an eye out for the turtle, she advised against trying to help the turtle themselves, but instead she suggested that they report the sighting to SCDNR so that they could hopefully remove the turtle safely and relocate it to a rehabilitation center where they can gently remove the paint from its shell.
“We don’t want an accident or tragedy to happen because some people didn’t use common sense,” Clementoni said.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
