Just when you thought it was safe to break out the shorts and T-shirts Mother Nature sends a parting gift – a shot of freezing temps.
Not only is that bad news for the plants that we all put out but also for any turtles heading back toward the coast after a long winter at sea. It doesn’t take much for one of the little guys to hit a patch of cold air or water and become stunned.
North Carolina had a record year for the number of cold-stunned turtles stranding on our beaches, and the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabililtation Center had a record year for patients - 92 at one point over the winter. We still have about 40 cold stun victims in rehab and we’ve just added some latecomers to the fold.
If you’re a regular visitor to the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center you know that it often takes months for the total effects of cold to manifest in a sea turtle. We’re now seeing things like bone lesions and lingering respiratory problems.
Poor little Kemp’s “Pumba” has lost his back scutes and bone and he’s going to have as long a recovery as former patient “Geo” who spent over two years with us. His next door (tank) neighbor “Zazu II” is suffering the same fate all along the edges of his carapace. Poor little “Piglet” continues on a course of strong antibiotics as we try to clear up a variety of problems.
Our newest admits were probably cold-stun victims who somehow made it back out to the water but never really recovered. They’ve obviously been drifting helplessly for months and it’s a wonder that something higher in the food chain hasn’t made a meal of them. They’re covered with so much crust, barnacles and algae that we really can’t tell what they look like underneath, or even how much they really weigh.
It’s going to be a slow process of “de-crudding,” medication and TLC to get them over the hump and back on their flippers.
If you find a sick or cold stun sea turtle, please call the State of NC hotline 252-241-7367. The state number answers 24/7.
By Karen Sota, voluteer at the sea turtle hospital
