CORPUS CHRISTI- Texas – SeaWorld San Antonio animal care specialists rescued 13 endangered green sea turtles on the upper Laguna Madre in Corpus Christi.
According to SeaWorld San Antonio’s marketing leader, Chuck Cureau, due to the low-water temperatures, the turtles became “cold-stunned,” and hypothermia began to set, which limited the turtles’ ability to swim out of the way of boats and other water hazards or predators.
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“The SeaWorld Rescue team actively monitors both air and water temperatures along the Texas coast, which determines when they will aid in the search or rescue,” Cureau said. “Once it was determined that the temperatures had dropped significantly and the chance for cold-stunned turtles was significant, three members of the SeaWorld Animal Rescue were deployed. Using a rescue boat, the team patrolled the islands, sand bars, and shorelines to search for turtles in need.”
According to Cureau, the turtles were tired over to The Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery at Padre Island National Seashore.
The turtles will be returned to the coast once fully-recovered at the Amos Rehabilitation Keep.
According to SeaWorld San Antonio, the group has successfully rescued turtles, dolphins, manatees and even terrestrial animals like opossum, since 2013.
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