Fourteen of the world's smallest and most critically endangered sea turtles are receiving medical care at SeaWorld after being rescued from where they washed ashore in Massachusetts in early December.
The Kemp's ridley sea turtles that arrived from Cape Cod were cold-stunned, meaning too cold to eat or swim. The is a type of hypothermia some sea turtles experience after lingering up north for too long as water temperatures drop, according to SeaWorld supervisor of rescue Nicholas Ricci.
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"What happens is the turtles basically can't move. They end up stranded on the beach and really, really sick, in critical condition," Ricci said. "And in fact, if they do not receive help, there's no way for them to survive that situation."
The turtles receive some treatment up north after being rescued. But only two aquariums in New England are able to see the turtles through the full rehabilitation process, Ricci said, giving other places, like SeaWorld, an opportunity to step in.
"After receiving that initial care, they're loaded up carefully into an airplane and flown across the country. So this is really an interstate rescue operation that kicks into gear," Ricci said.
Although each case is different, in general, the turtles will spend between two and three months being rehabilitated, Ricci said. Once they're deemed healthy, the turtles will be microchipped, just in case they ever get stranded again.
Then, SeaWorld will release the turtles into warmer waters of the Gulf or Atlantic in Florida.
"These are the most critically endangered sea turtles in the world," Ricci said. "So literally, every single individual that we can help recover and get back out into the ocean, they make a huge difference … in helping the species recover and survive."
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Kemp's ridleys are classified as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. They're also the world's smallest sea turtles, reaching a width of just about 2 feet once fully grown.
"All turtles are really unique and special, but … Kemp's really tend to be some of our most polite patients, meaning that they're very easy to handle," Ricci said. "They usually start eating pretty quickly on their own, and they're just a joy to have in rehabilitation."
On average, SeaWorld rescues about 60 sea turtles a year. But this year was a little busier than normal, with 73 rescued as of Dec. 30, Ricci said.
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