“In the past 14 years that we’ve been doing this, we never hit a major holiday, but we 50 sea turtles each day on Christmas Eve and Christmas.” “Our season this year had the second-highest number of cold-stunned sea turtles ever,” said longtime Hatteras Island N.E.S.T Coordinator Frank Welles, noting that volunteers were especially busy during a cold snap that occurred over the Christmas holiday. The winter of 2022/2023 was an especially busy year for N.E.S.T volunteers, with an estimated 320 cold-stunned sea turtles rescued on Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands. Photo by Joy Crist.īecause they are unable to move, they have difficulty raising their heads above water to breathe and can eventually drown. On the Outer Banks, volunteers with N.E.S.T (Network for Endangered Sea Turtles) patrol the beaches when the temperatures drop, looking for cold-stunned sea turtles that have become immobile and have washed ashore.Ĭold-stunned turtles typically suffer symptoms similar to hypothermia – which lowers their heart rate and circulation – and when they become too cold, their metabolism slows, prohibiting them from moving to warmer waters. The four green sea turtles were all cold-stunned turtle patients, and were admitted to the STAR Center over the winter months. The Kemp’s ridley turtle was admitted to the STAR Center in May after catching a fishing hook in the mouth near Jennette’s Pier, while Miss Piggy has been at the STAR Center since September 2022, due to her lethargic and anemic state when she was found. ![]() ![]() The released sea turtles included four green sea turtles, one juvenile Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, and one adult female loggerhead sea turtle known as “Miss Piggy,” who was also outfitted with a satellite so that her movements could be tracked in the months to come. The Old Lighthouse Beach in Buxton was packed on Tuesday morning, May 16, as six sea turtles that had completed their rehabilitation at the Sea Turtle Assistance and Rehabilitation (STAR) Center at the NC Aquarium on Roanoke Island were released back into the ocean.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |