26 additional cold-stunned turtles added to rehab center

SURF CITY, NC (WWAY) — We told you last week about cold-stunned sea turtles found in New England that were brought south to Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center.  

They received more cold-stunned turtles Monday, and it’s a long and winding road for the turtles to fully recover. 

Sea turtles are cold blooded reptiles that need to be in water that is at least 75 degrees.  

As winter is approaching, there has been an increase in cold-stunning.   

Cold-stunning happens when marine reptiles, like sea turtles, are exposed to cold water for an extended period of time.  

Kathy Zagzebski, the executive director of the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center tells us what happens when sea turtles experience cold-stunning.

“Hypothermic condition called cold-stunning. At that point all their blood shunts to their core and really their body is just trying to keep them alive,” Zagzebski said.   

To get the turtles back to temperature, 

“We then go through a series of warming days, we will then warm them up gradually, about 7 degrees per day. Until they are at the 75 degrees where we keep our hospital building. Along the way we will also take blood work to assess,” Zagzebski added. 

26 sea turtles were admitted to the rehab center on Monday. 10 of them were from Cape Lookout and 16 were transferred from the Outer Banks. 

“They brought in hundreds and hundreds of turtles, so they are getting slammed with cold stuns right now. So, if we can take 16 of them off their hands, we are happy to help in a little way,” Zagzebski stated. 

Last week, there were 20 sea turtles brought in from Cape Cod. 

“That’s a real stranding hot spot with more turtle’s kind of being pushed into that Cape Cod Bay and getting trapped by the arm of Cape Cod. In part with some climate change affects kind of pushing more turtles in,” Zagzebski shared.  

So, what can you do if you spot a cold-stunned turtle? 

“If you come across a cold-stunned turtle it’s really important don’t put it back in the water please. Give us a call if you are on Topsail Island. Otherwise, you can call the North Carolina Wildlife resources commission. They have a 24-hour sea turtle hot line,” Zagzebski said. 

Zagzebski adds they are a nonprofit, so to help out, you can symbolically adopt a turtle.