Juno Beach, January 17: Hundreds of endangered sea turtles are being released back into the Atlantic Ocean now that Florida’s weather has warmed enough.
Officials in the Sunshine State helped rescue nearly 3 000 turtles from frigid waters in the past week, plucking them from the ocean, lagoons and rivers as air temperatures dipped to about 0ºC to 4ºC along the coast.
The turtles – which weigh up to 180kg – were found across Florida as the unseasonably chilly temperatures sent them into a cold stress, leaving them stunned and largely motionless, the perfect prey for predators. Now after about a week of treatment, including soakings in heated pools and oxygen therapy, turtles by the truckload are headed back into the wild.
Tractor-trailer trucks full of turtles arrived on Thursday at several Florida beaches, where the animals were hand-placed in the surf for their journey home. More were set to be released on Friday.
But even as hundreds of turtles were nursed back to health, the state continues to take in more sick ones, with about 500 turtles collected in recent days, said Meghan Koperski of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
—Agencies