Dozens of rescued freezing sea turtles spend Thanksgiving weekend in Keys’ rehab

Staff at the Turtle Hospital in Marathon spent Thanksgiving weekend on the time-sensitive mission to save dozens of “cold-stunned” sea turtles that were flown to the Florida Keys from the frigid waters of Cape Cod, wrapped snugly in towels inside banana boxes.

Forty critically injured turtles arrived Saturday afternoon in Florida, out of hundreds of ill Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, one of the most endangered sea turtle species in the world, that wash up almost yearly on the New England shoreline.

Every summer, the tiny creatures swim north to escape the warming oceans. But as waters continue to stay warmer for longer, the turtles stay in colder water late into the fall season, instinctively seeking shallow waters. And because sea turtles are ectothermic, or animals that cannot regulate their body temperatures, the turtles become too weak to eat and swim out from the Cape Cod “hook” that traps them.

The “cold-stunned” condition for turtles can leave lasting illnesses, such as pneumonia, deep-bone infections or other ailments. The recovery period can last anywhere from 30 days to a year.

Staff at the Florida Keys-based Turtle Hospital examine many of the 40 cold-stunned Kemp’s ridley sea turtles that arrived at the hospital Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020, in Marathon. The turtles were rescued from beaches in Cape Cod, Mass., and flown to the Keys by an all-volunteer organization called Turtles Fly Too.

“This year, it’s been hundreds of turtles,” said Turtle Hospital manager Bette Zirkelbach, adding that volunteers who expect the event up north prepare for the rescue mission.

It’s more than local aquariums can handle, so the small amphibians are grouped and flown to Florida, Georgia and Louisiana for rehabilitation and, eventually, release. Volunteers with the nonprofit group Turtles Fly Too provided the airplane and fuel to relocate the turtles down south.

So far, their recovery has gone ... swimmingly.

All 40 turtles in Florida passed their swim tests, Zirkelbach said, which means none had any immediate threats to their health. In about a month’s time, they’ll be released in the shores of Cape Canaveral.

Zirkelbach said the Turtle Hospital’s rescue has gone “smoother than expected.” Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Florida Keys’ facility had to close temporarily and was forced to significantly scale back its public tour operation, which yields most of the hospital’s revenue.

But with 18 staffers on board, Zirkelbach says they’ve done their best to treat the turtles.

“We’ve just had to get creative with funding,” Zirkelbach said.