Dozens of Cold-Stunned Sea Turtles Released Into the Wild After Months of Rehab

Rescued in Cape Cod, the critically endangered sea turtles got a lift to the warm waters of North Carolina.

While a sea turtle may be afforded protection by the armor of its shell, they have other struggles to contend with. As reptiles, they are unable to closely regulate their body temperatures like other mammals. Since their body temperature is closely related to the environment, if the water temperature dips below 50 F, sea turtles are at risk of becoming cold-stunned.

Such was the case with 24 turtles rescued from Cape Cod beaches by Mass Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary during a cold-stunning event, which began in November 2022 and went into January 2023. The turtles were just released back into the wild.

"Cold-stunned turtles become lethargic and are eventually unable to swim, causing them to float at the surface. Wind and/or tides may wash them ashore," explains the National  Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). "If temperatures remain low or turtles are not rescued, they can develop secondary health problems or die. Hundreds or even thousands of sea turtles can be affected by cold-stunning events."

Cold-stunning can happen anywhere with extreme cold snaps but regularly happens in a number of places, including Cape Cod Bay in Massachusetts. (Other locations include Long Island Sound, New York; Pamlico Sound, North Carolina; Mosquito Lagoon and surrounding areas of the Indian River Lagoon, Florida; St. Joseph Bay, Florida; and bays statewide in Texas (including Corpus Christi Bay, Matagorda Bay, Upper/Lower Laguna Madre.)

Thankfully for the Cape Cod turtles, Mass Audubon steps up to the task with all hands on deck during stranding conditions. On twice-daily beach patrols, more than 170 trained volunteers search the shore during stranding conditions, "sometimes in the middle of the night, usually in uncomfortable conditions." In the 2022 season, more than 70% of the sea turtles retrieved from bay beaches were alive. Once the turtles are processed at the Sanctuary, volunteers drive the turtles to the New England Aquarium for rehab.

The batch of released turtles included 23 Kemp’s ridley turtles—a critically endangered species—and one green sea turtle. Biologists from the Aquarium drove the 24 turtles to the warm springtime waters of Fort Fisher, North Carolina, for the release.

“This is the best time of the year for us. Getting the turtles back to their ocean home is why we do this, in hopes that each one of these turtles helps their population bounce back from the possibility of extinction,” said Adam Kennedy, Director of Rescue and Rehabilitation.

The turtles spent months at the Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy, Massachusetts, in treatment for conditions ranging from pneumonia and dehydration to bone fractures. After veterinarians cleared the group of turtles to return to the ocean, the Aquarium organized ground transport south. The vehicles were climate-controlled to match the temperature of the destination waters for easier acclimation.

“The majority of the cold-stunned sea turtles that come to our hospital have a poor prognosis, but as they progress in their rehabilitation, you see them really start to get their spark back,” said Rescue Biologist Alessia Brugnara, who led the transport. “Working with these turtles from the moment they come in off the frigid Cape Cod beaches, and seeing them swim away in the ocean, gives my job purpose.”

According to the Aquarium, they treated a total of 518 turtles over the course of the 2022 season.

The NOAA notes that cold-stunning events have been documented since the late 1800s. In Massachusetts, the number of annual cold-stunned sea turtle strandings varies per year but has been on a steady rise, growing from around 50 in 2000 to about 900 in 2022—making it the third-busiest season on record. Scientists have predicted that by 2031, these events will bring thousands of sea turtles to our shores annually. As NOAA confirms, "recent research in the northeastern U.S. suggests that warming sea temperature may be influencing sea turtle movements in a way that increases the chances of cold-stunning."

If you would like to learn more or find out how to help, visit Mass Audubon and the New England Aquarium.