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Carolina Curious: How are North Carolina's sea turtles affected by climate change?

The official start of summer is just around the corner, and for many Piedmont residents, that means packing up the car and heading east to the North Carolina coast. Along the beaches, there’s a familiar sight: clusters of sea turtle nests, roped off with makeshift fencing.

Unfortunately, a brutal cold snap in January left hundreds of the state’s turtles cold-stunned. And a gender imbalance among new hatchlings has sparked concern among researchers. All this had WFDD’s April Laissle wondering: How is climate change affecting the state’s sea turtle population? For this edition of Carolina Curious, she traveled to a sea turtle hospital in Surf City to find the answer.

The hospital is housed in a large warehouse filled with rows of blue tanks, each holding a turtle patient. Executive Director Kathy Zagzebski guides visitors through the center, where one of the most rambunctious residents, a loggerhead named Snooki, makes a splash — literally.

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April Laissle is a senior reporter and editor at WFDD. Her work has been featured on several national news programs and recognized by the Public Media Journalists Association and the Radio Television Digital News Association. Before joining WFDD in 2019, she worked at public radio stations in Ohio and California.

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