Turtle hospital offers special care for cold stunned turtles
SURF CITY, NC (WWAY) — It is that time of year where sea turtles desperately need our help. 16 cold stunned sea turtles arrived at the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center Wednesday night.
WWAY stopped by to see how the turtles are doing and asked about what you should look out for if you are on the water during winter.
The 16 new patients flown in from New England are the first this season to be treated at the center after they were cold stunned.
“16 little Kemp’s Ridleys and the Kemp’s Ridley’s first of all are absolutely adorable turtles, aren’t they all? But they also happen to be the most highly endangered species of sea turtle in the world today. So when we get 16 of them at one time, what a privilege for us to be able to look after those turtles and try to bring them to health so we’ll be able to release them back to the wild,” Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center Director, Jean Beasley said.
Cold stunning happens when sea turtles are exposed to cold water or air temperatures for a long period of time.
“Their bodies start to shut down,” Beasley said.
Once that happens they lose their ability to move and can develop pneumonia, bone disease, and skin lesions, followed by shock and possibly death if they are not helped in time.
“If anyone is walking on the beach or paddling around in the waterway or anywhere that they might see a turtle who’s not moving it could be a turtle that’s cold stunned, not dead. And they might be able to help it,” Beasley said.
Beasley added to bring the turtle to a safe area, avoid hot temperatures, and call local experts for help.
Depending on their condition the sea turtles will not be released until the water warms up and they are cleared by the hospital vet.
Beasley plans on naming all 16 turtles after things in the sky such as stars or planets.
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