Cold-Stunned Turtles Make Way From Frigid Cape Cod To Balmy Tampa Bay

TAMPA BAY, FL — Baby, it's cold outside. With temperatures dropping to 15 degrees, a winter storm watch issued and 10 to 12 inches of snow expected by Saturday in New England, 20 Kemp's ridley turtles have officially become snowbirds.

The 20 critically endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtles were rescued off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, after becoming cold-stunned. They were flown to St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport Tuesday where the Clearwater Marine Aquarium picked up 10 of the turtles for rehabilitation and treatment and The Florida Aquarium transported another 10 turtles to its Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center.

Cold-stunning occurs when cold-blooded animals, like sea turtles, are exposed to unusually cold water or air temperatures for an extended period of time, causing a hypothermic reaction that may include a lower heart rate, decreased circulation, lethargy, which affects their ability to swim, causing them to float on the surface, resulting in wind or tides may wash them ashore.

It generally occurs when water temperatures fall below 50 degrees. If temperatures remain low or the turtles are not rescued, they can develop secondary infections like pneumonia, and die.

Luckily, these 20 turtles have friends with warm hearts living in warm climates.

Flown to Tampa Bay from New England Aquarium and National Marine Life Center, both in Massachusetts, as part of a larger effort by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, these 20 turtles are just a fraction of the 100 Kemp’s ridley sea turtles transported to rehabilitation centers across the country during this effort.

More than 500 turtles have washed ashore on Cape Cod beaches so far this season. Thousands of sea turtles succumb to cold-stunning each year.

On Tuesday, the cold-stunned Kemp's ridley sea turtles were placed in banana boxes and flown from Cape Cod to Tampa Bay to be treated at the aquariums where turtle temperatures are a balmy 82 degrees and the ocean temperature 71 degrees.

Turning the turtles into "snowbirds" was the nonprofit national organization, Turtles Fly Too,which landed at St. Pete/Clearwater International Airport to deliver the turtles to the aquariums before heading on to Mississippi.

Turtles Fly Too provides emergency aviation transportation for marine life for the NOAA Fisheries Division, U.S. Wildlife Service, zoos, aquariums and other rescue groups.

The nonprofit said most of its transports in the fall each year involve endangered sea turtles, with the majority — between 500 and 1,400 — found stranded as a result of “cold-stunning” in the Northeast.

With the help of Turtles Fly Too and its volunteer pilots, the survival rate for Cape Cod cold-stunned sea turtles has increased from 30 percent in 2014 to 75 percent in 2020.

During the 2020 cold-stun season alone, Turtles Fly Too flew 21 missions involving more than 45 aircraft transporting 584 sea turtles.

In addition to cold-stunned sea turtles, Turtles Fly Too has transported seals, sea otters and white pelicans.

In August 2020, the nonprofit even assisted in the difficult rescue of a 30-foot-long humpback whale from New York Harbor.

Animal care professionals at both Tampa Bay aquariums have been busy assessing the condition of the turtles and providing treatment plans for each turtle with the goal of rehabilitating and ultimately releasing them.

“They are quiet but they are responsive," said Ashley Riese, The Florida Aquarium’s sea turtle rehabilitation manager. “Each turtle will receive a complete examination including bloodwork and we will also conduct swim tests.”

By assuming the care of these turtles, The Florida Aquarium, Clearwater Marine Aquarium and other marine rescue facilities are helping to free up room for more critically injured stranded turtles in New England.

Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are the smallest sea turtle in the world. The species is named after Richard M. Kemp, a fisherman from Key West, who first submitted the species for identification in 1906.