The Audubon Coastal Wildlife Network in New Orleans released nine sea turtles into the Gulf of Mexico this week after the endangered reptiles recovered from a severe December cold snap.
The freezing weather, which also grounded air traffic all over the United States, cold-stunned hundreds, and possibly thousands, of sea turtles.
More than 700 criticallly endangered Kemp’s ridley turtles, almost all juveniles 2 to 4 years old, were lucky enough to be plucked from the beaches of Cape Cod by turtle rescue volunteers and hustled to specialized rehab facilities to recover.
The young turtles had migrated north in search of food.
Eighteen stunned turtles were flown to Gulfport, Mississippi, by a volunteer network called Turtles Fly Too.
From Mississippi, they were driven to the Audubon Species Survival Center in Lower Coast Algiers. They recovered in 10,000-gallon saltwater tanks resembling above-ground swimming pools, inside climate-controlled warehouses.
The group rehabbed by Audubon also included a green sea turtle rescued from the beach in Port Fourchon during the cold snap.
Cold-stunning is the turtle equivalent of hypothermia, which can lead to pneumonia and frostbite as well as other fatal health problems.
The other nine sea turtles are still recovering and they, too, will be released when they are well.
Go here to see a video capturing the moment when the sea turtles were freed in the Gulf.
Leave a Reply