New England Aquarium Treats More Than 450 Live Stranded Sea Turtles This Season
Due to rapidly changing water temperatures and wind patterns, many turtles cannot escape the hook-like shape of Cape Cod Bay and become hypothermic.
The New England Aquarium announced it has treated more than 450 live sea turtles stranded so far this season.
According to a news release by the New England Aquarium, reports of sea turtle stranding on Cape Cod began on Nov. 7. More than 200 sea turtles required care during the first two weeks of the season. Intake numbers have been steadily increasing from late November into December, but have slowed during the last week amid colder temperatures.
While most sea turtles being treated are critically endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtles, larger loggerhead turtles have been reported. To date, the Aquarium's Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy has admitted 473 sea turtles this season: 404 Kemp's ridleys, 21 loggerheads, and 48 green sea turtles. Currently, 84 turtles are receiving treatment at the aquarium's hospital.
Cold-stunned turtles strand due to rapid changes in water temperature and wind in Cape Cod Bay. Rescue partners must bring them to the aquarium for warming and care before they can be released back into the ocean.
According to the New England Aquarium, due to rapidly changing water temperatures and wind patterns, many turtles cannot escape the hook-like shape of Cape Cod Bay and become hypothermic.
Staff and volunteers from the Massachusetts Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary have been moving through the area, searching for cold-stunned turtles on beaches along Cape Cod Bay and transporting them to the Aquarium's Sea Turtle Hospital. There, they are gradually warmed and receive care for medical conditions resulting from hypothermia and an inability to feed or swim.
The aquarium notes that ongoing sea turtle rescue, rehabilitation, and research efforts are continuing, and donations are essential to continuing the organization's conservation work. Gifts to the New England Aquarium's Mission Forward Fund will help sea turtles and other animals in the aquarium's care. Now through Dec. 31, donations will be matched dollar-for-dollar. Supporters can visit the New England Aquarium website to contribute.
