It happens every year, and this year is no exception. Each year, hundreds and hundreds of Kemp's Ridley sea turtles get trapped in the waters of Cape Cod after floating there for months in the warm water they so love. Suddenly, the water gets cold (50 degrees and lower) and due to the hook of the Cape, the turtles become disoriented and cannot find their way back out to the Gulf Stream and warmer waters. The cold water weakens them to the point where they cannot eat, drink or swim, and eventually cannot move.
Fortunately for the turtles, over 250 volunteers brave these chilly beaches and waters, searching every day for cold stunned victims. Upon rescue, they are transported to the New England Aquarium for treatment and rehabilitation. Unfortunately, they can only accommodate so many patients. Therefore many of the turtles are transported to other sea turtle hospitals, some of which are located in Florida. This past week, "Turtles Fly Too", a group of volunteer pilots, flew 40 Kemp's down here to the Florida Keys and they are now warming up and receiving care at The Turtle Hospital in Marathon.
The Kemp's range in age from 2 to 5 years old. Several turtles along with being cold stunned, are also being treated for wounds due to the cold and from predators. One in particular is missing a piece of his flipper, most likely caused by a bird bite when he was much smaller.
The amount of rescued turtles each winter are too numerous to individually name, so they are assigned numbers in order to keep track of each turtle and the specific care it needs. The highest number at The Turtle Hospital is 407. Sadly, that number will go much MUCH higher as the winter goes on. While most of the patients remained at the bottom of their "pools", number 360 popped up and seemed quite happy to take some time to pose for our camera! We took lots of photos of these little ones, so check out our FB page to see more. Click the video below for a view of these patients at the Turtle Hospital.
Flippers up to the scores of people involved with helping to save these precious animals!
