Saved and injured sea turtles find a new home in North Texas



[ad_1]

In North Texas, where longhorns and quarter horses are common, Pancake comes out.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram first reports that she is a green sea turtle, a reptile native to the Texas coast who owns a large Pancake is the first patient of the new rescue center. sea ​​turtles from the SEA LIFE Grapevine Aquarium, where she is recovering from having been operated on a tumor.

The Grapevine Aquarium is the first SEA LIFE in the United States to rehabilitate sick and injured sea turtles, an endangered species, said SEA LIFE Grapevine spokesman Adam Nacci. When asked how the injured sea turtles from the Texas coast ended up in North Texas. It's five hours drive from Galveston to Grapevine. And it's almost nine o'clock from Brownsville. "In many hospitals for sea turtles on the coast, they could be submerged by injured turtles and provide them with a place for their rehabilitation."

Boat attacks, plastic debris, viruses such as fibropapilloma and cold are the main causes According to marine experts, just a few months ago, dozens of sea turtles suffered from being paralyzed by the cold, a hypothermic reaction that occurs when sea turtles are exposed to prolonged cold water temperatures

. ] So far this year, there have been 2,894 sea turtles stranded or injured on the Texas coast, according to Padre Island National Seashore statistics. In 2017, there were 773.

"It's reassuring to know that they (the Grapevine Sea Turtle Rescue Center) are there to help if needed," said Mary Kay Skoruppa, of the service Texas Coastal Ecological Environmental Registry. 19659006] The green turtle gets its name not from its green shell, but from its green skin. How Pancake came by his name was a matter of speculation at the aquarium.

Grapevine SEA LIFE opened its rehabilitation center and hospital a few weeks ago, hosting Pancake and four other sea turtles. Pancakes should be released in the wild in July, but the remaining four will stay in Grapevine because they are not released because of their injuries.

"With our new license and our hospital, in addition to the rescue, we can now" says Karen Rifenbury, curator of SEA LIFE

And what about this long hike between the Texas coast and Grapevine and the return trip? Groomers say sea turtles can handle with the right equipment.

Generally, once transported, sea turtles are wrapped in wet towels in a bathtub, placed in a vehicle with the temperature at 75 degrees. "I would check the temperature every 30 minutes," said Krista Huebner, who oversees the Grapevine Sea Turtle Rescue Center.

Pancake arrived in Grapevine after undergoing a procedure Surgery to remove six drops Tumors that have developed from fibropapilloma According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, this virus could be deadly for sea turtles as tumors develop on their skin and internal organs, which could interfere with swimming, feeding, breathing, vision and reproduction. Tumors the size of a golf ball when it was collected at Laguna Madre near Corpus Christi on the Texas coast.

The Grapevine Sea Turtle Rescue Center has three other green sea reptiles: Thalassia, Eddie and Boomerang.

Huebner estimated that the rescue center could handle about 10 small turtles and six to seven medium-sized sea turtles

"Pancake is in quarantine because we do not want other turtles to contract the disease" said Huebner in reference to his fibropapilloma.

Once Pancake is healthy, she will be released into the wild. Other injured and restored healthy sea turtles will also be released through the work of Amos Rehabilitation Keep (ARK), the US Fish and Wildlife Service and other sea turtle hospitals. Texas coastal area

. Texas – there are just too many horses and longhorns in the area.

At the Grapevine Center, visitors can have direct experience of the rescue and assistance process to injured sea turtles. Visitors can manipulate a mock turtle and undertake a rehab journey, thereby nursing the reptilian to good health

The Grapevine Aquarium and Sea Turtle Rescue Center are located at the 3000 Grapevine Mills Parkway.

___

Worth Star-Telegram, http://www.star-telegram.com

This is an AP weekend member exchange shared by the Fort-Worth Star-Telegram

[ad_2]
Source link