Galaxy swipes the air with his flippers, head stretching toward the rolling waves and the sea beyond, volunteers sending him back home.
Whistles and cheers of those gathered for the rare event on South Padre Island accelerate into the crisp wind; they’ve come from places far away and close by to see the cold-stunned Atlantic green sea turtles — 160 of them — returned to their home by Sea Turtle, Inc.
“This is actually unique to have a cold-stunned event in December,” says Wendy Knight, CEO of STI, an organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of injured sea turtles.
Sea Turtle, Inc. volunteers and staff gather around a truck bed loaded with sea turtles to return them to the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, during a public release by Sea Turtle, Inc. of 160 sea turtles recovered from the recent cold-stun event at Cameron County Beach #4 on South Padre Island. Volunteers and staff rescued the sea turtles from the Laguna Madre-area, during the recent arctic blast. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)Captain T.J. Reyna carries a sea turtle across the beach to the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, during a public release by Sea Turtle, Inc. of 160 sea turtles recovered from the recent cold-stun event at Cameron County Beach #4 on South Padre Island. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)Attendees peek through the line of volunteers to catch a glimpse of the sea turtles Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, during a public release by Sea Turtle, Inc. of 160 sea turtles recovered from the recent cold-stun event at Cameron County Beach #4 on South Padre Island. Volunteers and staff rescued the sea turtles from the Laguna Madre-area, during the recent arctic blast. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)Sea Turtle, Inc. staff member Chris Gorman carries a sea turtle named Galaxy, fitted with a satellite tracker out to the Gulf waters Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, during a public release by Sea Turtle, Inc. of 160 sea turtles recovered from the recent cold-stun event at Cameron County Beach #4 on South Padre Island. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)Sea Turtle, Inc. staff member Chris Gorman walks out into the Gulf of Mexico to release a sea turtle named Galaxy, fitted with a satellite tracker Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, during a public release by Sea Turtle, Inc. of 160 sea turtles recovered from the recent cold-stun event at Cameron County Beach #4 on South Padre Island. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)Attendees wait for the arrival of the sea turtles behind a rope line Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, during a public release by Sea Turtle, Inc. of 160 sea turtles recovered from the recent cold-stun event at Cameron County Beach #4 on South Padre Island. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)A convoy of vehicles carrying 160 sea turtles drive across the beach to the release site Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, at the public release by Sea Turtle, Inc. following a cold-stun event at Cameron County Beach #4 on South Padre Island. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)A sea turtle flaps its flippers as a volunteer carries it out to the water Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, during a public release by Sea Turtle, Inc. of 160 sea turtles recovered from the recent cold-stun event at Cameron County Beach #4 on South Padre Island. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)Volunteers Captain T.J. Reyna and Bart Perez shoulder the weight of large sea turtle out to the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, for a public release by Sea Turtle, Inc. of 160 sea turtles recovered from the recent cold-stun event at Cameron County Beach #4 on South Padre Island. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)A volunteer carries a sea turtle out across the beach sand Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, during a public release by Sea Turtle, Inc. of 160 sea turtles recovered from the recent cold-stun event at Cameron County Beach #4 on South Padre Island.(Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)Attendees watch as volunteers carry sea turtles out to the water Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, during a public release by Sea Turtle, Inc. of 160 sea turtles recovered from the recent cold-stun event at Cameron County Beach #4 on South Padre Island. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)Volunteer Jacob Reinbolt holds up a sea turtle so it can ‘wave’ its flippers goodbye to the crowd Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, during a public release by Sea Turtle, Inc. of 160 sea turtles recovered from the recent cold-stun event at Cameron County Beach #4 on South Padre Island. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)Sea Turtle, Inc. volunteers and staff wade out into the Gulf of Mexico to release sea turtles Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, for a public release by Sea Turtle, Inc. of 160 sea turtles recovered from the recent cold-stun event at Cameron County Beach #4 on South Padre Island. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
