A two-headed turtle hatchling was found alive in a South Carolina state park

• A two-headed turtle hatching was found in a South Carolina state park.
• South Carolina State Parks described it as "a very rare find."
• The hatchling, and other live ones found, were released into the ocean.

A two-headed turtle hatchling was discovered in a South Carolina state park last month.

South Carolina State Parks said that volunteers and patrollers found the hatching while doing a routine check on turtle nests in Edisto Beach State Park.

It described it as a "very rare find."

"While performing an inventory this past Wednesday, patrollers and volunteers found three alive loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings still in the chamber, but one hatchling in particular stood out because it had two heads!," it said on Facebook.

It said: "This two-headed hatchling is the result of a genetic mutation."

It noted that other two-headed hatchlings have been found in South Carolina in past years, but said "this is a first for the patrol team at Edisto Beach State Park."

The hatchling, and others found, were released into the ocean.

Nests are checked three to five days after signs that hatchings have emerged from their shells. Volunteers and those patrolling check tand count the hatched eggs, unhatched eggs, and "on occasions also find live hatchlings, South Carolina State Parks said.