More than 11,000 sea turtles were stunned by the cold weather that plunged through Texas over the past two weeks/NPS
More than 11,000 sea turtles have been stunned, and an undetermined number killed, by the recent cold snap that plunged through Texas like an icy dagger. Biologists and wildlife technicians, including some from Padre Island National Seashore on the Gulf Coast, have been working to save as many as possible.
Dustin Baker, a spokesman for the national seashore, said Friday in an email that as of Wednesday roughly 11,500 "cold stunned sea turtles were found along the coast of Texas as a result of last week's frigid weather, which is more than double the previous record, set in Florida in 2010."
"Final mortality numbers are not yet available as data continues to be processed, but early findings indicate the loss of a substantial number of animals," added Baker. "Exact numbers within the park are not available at this time. Rescue efforts are concentrated in geographic areas, not along agency/management boundary lines."
The park spokesman said that more than 4,200 recovered green sea turtles and two loggerheads were released offshore of Galveston, Mustang, and South Padre Islands between February 21 and 23.
"Coordination with rehabilitation facilities is ongoing, and we expect to release additional rehabilitated sea turtles as the animals recover. Final mortality numbers are not yet available as data continues to be processed. Nearly all the turtles recovered are green sea turtles," he said.
Dr. Donna Shaver, the nationally known sea turtle expert at the national seashore, was not giving interviews, said Baker.
Multiple agencies, including the National Park Service at Padre Island, have worked to recover sea turtles stunned by the cold weather/NPS
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Comments
That's amazing. I wish the article noted how long it would take the turtles to warm up and get released. Can they still die and/or suffer irreperable harm? Do they need to be fed before release? Who is paying for this? Who knew to go get them?
We have many of the same questions, Loui, but the park staff is really stretched thin and hasn't gotten back to us quite yet. When we get the answers, we'll provide them.
I am curious, where were the turtles? Were they not at sea? Nesting? Surprised they wouldn't have returned to the water which would have been relatively uneffected by the cold.
Thanks for the article. Great to see how many people are trying to help. It would be interesting to know how many are Kemp's ridleys, the most endangered sea turtle.