TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. — A social media trend, of people digging massive holes in beach sand, went viral and now wildlife advocates are saying it could harm sea turtles.

If you pull up TikTok and type in “digging holes challenge,” thousands of videos will show people digging holes as deep as 6 feet at the beach.

Now wildlife and city officials are responding to the aftermath of these holes.

“The holes on the beach are a big problem year around, especially now,” said beach ambassador, Carrie Auerbach. “May 1st to Oct 31st is turtle season and they are endangered.”

Treasure Island Beach has a leave no trace ordinance. This means when you leave the beach, it should look like you weren’t there – it’s not a new rule but the dangers of not following these rules are.

The sea turtles are falling in these holes and they can’t get out,” said Auerbach.” They lay their eggs on the beach then Clearwater Marine Aquarium corners them off so people stay away from them but 60 days later the eggs hatch and make their way back to the sea.”

That’s when the trouble of those holes comes up.

“People running on the beach, flying kites, throwing frisbees – stepping in holes and breaking an ankle; also law enforcement vehicles that drive on the sand,” said Auerbach. “Build your sandcastle, take pictures of them then knock it down. Turtles can’t get around those either.”

Treasure Island’s public information officer said the beaches are still a place meant to let your hair down and relax, however we all should do our small part in taking care if the environment – even if that means skipping a TikTok challenge, or two.