More than a thousand sea turtles have been rescued from the St. Joseph Bay in Gulf County since the cold snap hit Florida last week. More than 200 turtles were pulled from the Bay last Thursday, hundreds more were found over the weekend, and 400 more on Monday. Most were taken to Gulf World at Panama City Beach where they get warm fluids and a chance to defrost.
Turtles are being affected statewide – many of Florida’s rehabilitation centers are chock full of sea turtles including Green turtles, Kemps Ridley and Loggerhead turtles. It appears about 90% of them are surviving after they are warmed back up.
Sea Turtles do not handle cold temperatures very well. The turtles are cold blooded and can’t regulate their body temperature so when the water gets too cold they just conk out.
This is one of the larger sea turtle rescue events in recent history, but not the first. In 2001 over 401 sea turtles were rescued in St. Joseph's Bay after a cold snap.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission urged residents to watch out for cold-stressed animals and report stranded turtles to the wildlife hot line at 888-404-FWCC.
http://www.oysterradio.com
e-mail manager@oysterradio.com with comments
No comments:
Post a Comment