BALTIMORE — The National Aquarium's Animal Health and Rescue teams are spending the holiday season caring for 25 cold-stunned sea turtles that were rescued from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, last month.
The more than two dozen reptiles are hard at work recovering from ailments commonly associated with cold-stunning, including pneumonia, dehydration, emaciation, shell and skin lesions, frostbite, eye lesions and infections.
The 13 Kemp's ridley turtles (the world's smallest) and 12 green sea turtles (the world's largest hard-shell turtle) first spent time stabilizing at the New England Aquarium's Animal Care Center with the help of National Aquarium Response and Rehabilitation team members before being transferred to National Aquarium for long-term rehabilitation.
After arriving in Baltimore, the turtles received preliminary exams from the Aquarium's Animal Health team. As their rehabilitation continues, the Animal Health and Rescue teams said via press release that they will provide dedicated care to each patient, "working together towards the greater goal of returning these endangered animals back to their natural habitat."
As is tradition, the aquarium staff have nicknamed the rescued bunch. This group of sea turtles are named after popular beach destinations across the globe; the green sea turtle names include Siesta, La Jolla and Carmen, while the Kemp's ridley sea turtles have names such as Dewey, Waikiki and Juno.
According to the aquarium, National Aquarium Animal Rescue has rehabilitated and released 363 animals including 300 endangered sea turtles since 1991.
"The National Aquarium's Animal Rescue program is responsible for responding to stranded marine mammals and sea turtles along the nearly 3,190 miles of Maryland coast and works with stranding partners throughout the Greater Atlantic Regional Stranding Network to help respond, rescue and release animals year-round," they said.
"If you or someone you know finds a cold-stunned sea turtle or marine mammal in distress along the shoreline, the best thing you can do is give it space and immediately contact a trained wildlife first responder. The National Aquarium's Animal Rescue team is on call 24/7 to respond to injured marine life and can be reached on the Stranding Hotline at 410-576-3880."
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