More than 500 cold-stunned sea turtles rescued in Florida as temperatures dropped across state

Cold-stunned sea turtle rescued

The FWC said it has rescued more than 500 cold-stunned sea turtles across the state over the past few days. FOX 13’s Kailey Tracy reports. 

TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. - The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says it and its partners have rescued more than 500 cold-stunned sea turtles just over the past few days across the state.

Staff at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium says 20 turtles have been rescued and brought into CMA since Sunday because of the cold weather, which they say is unusual. 

READ: Cold-stunned turtle rescued from Treasure Island after seeking shelter in the sand

A sea turtle rescued on Sunset Beach Sunday is included in that. Six are from Crystal River and the rest were from Pinellas County.

Dig deeper:

The FWC says when water temperatures drop below 50 degrees, sea turtles can become cold stunned, which is basically like hypothermia. 

Their bodies shut down; they stop swimming and eating and usually wash ashore.

CMA’s Rehabilitation Manager, Dr. Kerry McNally, says this weekend’s winds also helped wash them ashore. 

What they're saying:

Kevin Jennings, a community service specialist with the Treasure Island Police Department, says he found one Sunday morning on Sunset Beach.

"As I was on my patrol, I came across what appeared to be maybe like a tire," he said. 

READ: Clearwater Marine Aquarium reports record-breaking sea turtle nesting season

"So, I was going to grab it and throw it away, and as I pulled up, I saw that it was a young sea turtle. And because of the temperature, I thought for sure it was probably had met its demise, but as I pulled up, it raised its little head and I'm like, ‘oh,’ and I wasn't exactly sure what to do. So, I contacted my supervisor, and he immediately came out and also the sergeant on duty came out and what we did was we boxed the turtle in to kind of block the wind," Jennings said. 

He said they moved their cars closer to the sea turtle hoping the engine heat would keep it warm and called CMA.

"It started moving around just a little bit more, moved its extremities a little," he said.

What You Should Do:

McNally said if you see a turtle that needs help, make sure it doesn’t wash away, and call CMA or the FWC.

"Initially, with that case, the people got it away from the water and covered it from the wind," McNally said. "So, what we do is we like to slowly warm them up, so they were able to get them away from the windchill and call CMA's rescue hotline. From that point, the rescue team was able to go out, evaluate the animal, and bring it in."

"Without the help of the public to keep an eye on the animal and make sure it doesn't wash away is really important. Also with the cold, they may look deceased, but we never assume they're deceased because the cold temperatures will make them lethargic. So, it's always good to still call us and so we can bring them in and evaluate them," she said.

She said the turtle rescued on Sunset Beach’s body temperature was 45 degrees when they brought it in Sunday. They slowly warm up the cold-stunned turtles in a warm room and give them fluids.

What's next:

McNally said the sea turtle rescued on Sunset Beach did go swimming on Tuesday and is doing well.

It’s hard to say when it’ll be released, she said. They have to do some blood work and monitor its swimming first, McNally said. 

READ: Record-breaking year for sea turtle nests on Sarasota beaches, disorientations hit all-time high

CMA also has six turtles from New England and two from the Panhandle that were cold stunned that they’re taking care of.