CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Texas State Aquarium is no stranger to helping cold-stunned turtles and rehabilitating them.
Cold stunning occurs when a sea turtle’s body temperature falls too low, and they have trouble functioning. This leaves them susceptible to predators, or to be hit by boats.
New England recently sent 120 cold-stunned turtles to Texas, with 20 of them coming to the aquarium in Corpus Christi. From these 20 turtles, 18 of them are Kemp Ridley turtles, which are the most endangered sea turtle species in the world.
Jesse Gilbert with the Texas State Aquarium said the northeast does not typically see cold-stunning events of the magnitude they are currently seeing them, with hundreds of sea turtles having to be flown down to organizations in the South to help them.
Gilbert told KRIS 6 News that some of the turtles have started to eat, but there is a long recovery process ahead. He is however, optimistic that they will all be able to make a full recovery and be released in the gulf waters.
