CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — At least 300 sea turtles were recovered by local wildlife recue groups since the recent cold snap.
The Texas State Aquarium got help from multiple organizations Thursday to release 250 of those 300 turtles. All were impacted by the cold stunning event that experts said incapacitates the turtles, stranding them onshore.
Experts said most sea turtles were stranded in the upper Laguna Madre but others were found in various areas on the Texas coast. Of the 250, most were green sea sea turtles and some were loggerheads.
The TSA said three loggerheads released Thursday were from the mass stranding event happening throughout the year. TSA President Jesse Gilbert said recovery efforts were quick and local rescue groups got the sea turtles back in the Gulf of Mexico since the water temperature reached 60 degrees again.
"All of Texas kind of really felt this, this cold front, so there were turtles stranding as far south as South Padre Island. So, certainly an event that impacted the entire state and luckily the weather changed really quick," said TSA President Jesse Gilbert.
Padre Island National Seashore's Donna Shaver said it's important they recovered the turtles fast since they can be eaten by predators or die from the cold once onshore.
She said the sea turtles recover from cold-stunning events by being placed in tanks that gradually heat to the water temperature of the Gulf of Mexico, preparing them for release.
Gilbert said some turtles are in need of further examination and will remain at the wildlife rescue center until they're ready. He hopes the cold-stunned turtles and about 10 loggerheads from this years mass stranding event will be ready for release in the next couple of months.
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