Ten
green sea turtles treated for cold stress at Mote Marine Laboratory
were successfully released to the sea Wednesday from a Collier County
Beach. All 10 scooted toward the waves, ready for a swim after their
much-needed "warm-up" at Mote.
These cold-stunned
turtles were part of a mass stranding caused by unusually low water
temperatures during the past two weeks. The cold affected more than
4,000 turtles statewide, many of which have been treated at wildlife
rehabilitation facilities throughout the state, including 44 treated so
far at Mote.
As water
temperatures have warmed, hundreds of turtles have been released, with
the majority leaving from Florida's east coast, according to the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), which is
coordinating statewide efforts to rescue, rehabilitate and release
cold-stunned turtles. Gulf-coast facilities are now also releasing
turtles.
The 10 Mote turtles
were transported by the Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch on Wednesday
morning to Vanderbilt Beach in Naples. Turtle Watch volunteers released
the animals just before noon with help from the Collier County Natural
Resources Department.
A crowd of
onlookers watched the turtles crawl seaward. Mote's turtles were
released alongside six turtles treated and released by staff and
volunteers from the Clinic for Rehabilitation of Wildlife, Inc.
(C.R.O.W.) on Sanibel Island.
Ideally, sea
turtles are released in the same general area where they stranded. Most
of the 10 turtles from Mote stranded in Sarasota and Manatee counties,
but Collier County was the closest location with warm enough water for
the turtles. Because rehab facilities are so over capacity, state
officials allowed this release.
Media: Pictures from the release are available. Please contact Hayley at 941-374-0081 or hrutger@mote.org.
More Information on Mote's Cold-stunned Turtles
With the influx of
patients due to cold temperatures, Mote's Sea Turtle Rehabilitation
Hospital has treated 44 sea turtles since the week of Jan. 4 - the
largest group Mote has ever treated in such a short time period. Even
after releasing 10 patients, Mote's Sea Turtle Hospital is still
running over capacity with 19 turtles. (Please note: Some turtles
brought in for treatment have already been released; others have died
or been euthanized.)
Returning 10
turtles to the wild allows Mote staff to focus on turtles with more
serious and chronic health problems. All 10 released turtles were
slowly warmed to 71 degrees in medical pools at Mote and were given
fluids and offered food.
You can help sea
turtles at Mote by donating items for their care. Our patients include
green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas), loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta
caretta), and Kemp's ridleys (Lepidochelys kempii), all of which are
threatened, endangered or critically endangered. To continue providing
the best possible treatment, transportation and accommodations to our
patients, Mote needs more of the following items:
* Closed-cell foam padding (this is a high priority and usually available from boat fabricators)
* Kiddie pools, wading pools, cattle waterers or other containers of a similar size that can hold water
* Spray bottles
* Towels and blankets
* Tarps
* Spring clamps (either all metal or plastic)
* Ventilated containers
* Monetary donations to pay for medications, food and satellite tags
For donations of
items, please contact Stacy Alexander at 941-388-4441, ext 509, or
stacyalexander@mote.org. Click here or go to
www.mote.org/turtledonation to make a monetary donation now.
If you see a sick animal in the wild:
* Within Sarasota
or Manatee county waters, if you see a stranded or dead dolphin, whale
or sea turtle, please call Mote's Stranding Investigations Program, a
24-hour response service, at 941-988-0212.
* If you see a stranded
or dead manatee anywhere in state waters or a stranded or dead dolphin,
whale or sea turtle outside of Sarasota or Manatee counties please call
the FWC.
