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In one morning, dozens of "solid and frozen" sea turtles were found stranded on beaches in the northern United States.
Key points:
- The stunning season is an annual natural phenomenon
- Volunteers noted early season start this year
- More than 400 turtles have been affected so far
More than 80 turtles were found Thursday on the shores of several beaches in the Cape Cod area of Massachusetts.
Most turtles were dead, said Jenette Kerr, communications coordinator at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary of the Massachusetts Audubon Society, Cape Cod Times.
"We are more than 400 turtles stunned by the cold [this year] – 82 today, the vast majority of them are frozen, "Ms. Kerr said Thursday.
The volunteers had 87 beach turtles the day before, but the majority of them were still alive.
The difference was a dramatic change of weather on Wednesday night, resulting in low temperatures and high wind speeds.
This sudden drop in temperature was blamed on the turtle's balance sheet on Thursday.
"Their fins are tense, as if they were frozen while they were trying to swim," Ms. Kerr said.
The shrine prepares each year for the so – called stunning season, while the water temperature drops with the arrival of winter.
Turtles feed in Cape Cod Bay during the warmer months but, when they fail to migrate south for the winter, they remain stuck in cold waters.
Once their body temperature has dropped to around 10 degrees Celsius, their metabolism starts to stop.
Immobilized in their state of hypothermia, turtles drift along the current of water and are swept away by storms and strong winds.
However, once on the shore, turtles stranded on beaches do not benefit from a respite. Cold air and wind chill further aggravate the situation.
The cold stun season is held annually, but volunteers have noticed that this year she had started earlier than before, when four still turtles had been rescued in a day.
"October 22 was the official start of the Paralyzing Sea Turtle season in Cape Town, a relatively early start," wrote a sanctuary spokesperson in a blog.
"Since the temperature of the bay was still relatively warm, the discovery of our first cold turtles was a bit of a surprise.
"Still, we had ideas that turtles were on their way."
Later in the week, volunteers saved 20 turtles in one day.
More and more rescues were reported on the sanctuary's Facebook page when temperatures dropped.
"The turtle team is turning turtles into overdrive," an article on Facebook said on November 16.
Volunteers take the turtles to cold cold in the New England Aquarium, where the staff is trying to heal them.
One day, the staff received 56 turtles.
The turtles are warmed, processed and slowly monitored by the aquarium medical staff before being released to warmer places further south.
But some turtles are not so lucky.
And now, relief missions are hampered by even cooler temperatures.
The beaches have begun to freeze, which makes it too dangerous for volunteers.
The only hope for turtles is a break in the cold snap.
"If they come in and the temperature goes up a bit, the chances of survival are much better," Kerr said.
Topics:
animals,
animal behavior,
environment,
climate change,
United States
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