Sea Turtle, Inc. staff wait patiently in the 30-degree temperatures outside their facility on Dec. 24 on South Padre Island. Armed with towels, gloves and a clipboard, they are on a vigil, not for the many visitors who flock to learn about sea turtles over the holiday, but to meet the incoming vehicles transporting cold-stunned sea turtles into their care.
With freezing winds and cold conditions continuing in the Rio Grande Valley due to an arctic blast buffeting the region, the sea turtles within its coastal bay systems are in danger.
Sea turtles, explain Sea Turtle, Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Wendy Knight, are cold-blooded and rely on the ambient temperature of the water to regulate their body temperature. When the water drops below 50 degrees, sea turtles can become cold-stunned.
“They are still awake and have all their instincts. They know they are supposed to move their flippers to swim and to raise their heads out of the water to breathe—but because the sea turtles can’t regulate their body temperature, they can’t respond to that instinct,” Knight said.
So the sea turtles begin to float to the surface, but unable to lift their heads to take in air, drown.
The nonprofit Sea Turtle, Inc. steps in to help these sea turtles recover before they perish as part of their mission to protect, rehabilitate and educate the public about sea turtles.
Once rescued, staff monitor their respiration and heart rate and lubricate their eyes as needed. The sea turtles just need a chance to bring their body temperature back into regulation before they can be released once the colder temperatures pass.
For the Laguna Madre area, Sea Turtle, Inc. is primarily expecting to see cold-stunned Green sea turtles because they feed on the seagrasses within the bay. Other sea turtle species usually are out in deeper water and less at risk of cold stunning.
Cold stunning is primarily a bay phenomenon because the water is shallower. Sea turtles feeding in deeper water, Knight says, can dive down to where the water temperature is still warm compared to the surface.
Currently, the non-profit has 21 paid employees, hundreds of volunteers and 11 boats out on the water to locate and bring in the sea turtles as they find them. Knight estimates they will be on emergency duty until mid-morning Monday when the weather is forecasted to improve.
“We are in a unique challenge this year in that 30 days ago, we began construction of the new hospital, and so we demolished our existing hospital,” Knight said.
Currently, the center has created makeshift observation areas where the sea turtles can recover within their Education Center. While Knight is not expecting to see anything approaching the thousands of cold-stunned sea turtles that Winter Storm Uri brought in 2021, she and her staff are ready to expand if needed.
“Assuming that we are able to keep this occurrence to 500 or less, we are okay here in our own facility. Outside of that, we are absolutely going to be looking at our partners at the City of South Padre Island, The South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau and Cameron County for a secondary location,” Knight said.
For more information on volunteering or donations, visit the Sea Turtle Inc. Facebook page or their website at www.seaturtleinc.org. If you find a cold-stunned sea turtle call Sea Turtle, Inc.’s 24/7 emergency line (956) 243-4361.
