SeaWorld Orlando is caring for “cold-stunned” sea turtles rescued from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The goal is to return the animals to the Atlantic Ocean.
The 14 Kemp’s ridley turtles are part of an endangered species. Their camps begin migrating south in late November and early December, said Mallorie McCormack, senior zoological specialist. The hooked geography of Cape Cod can be a hazard, she said.
“If they are stuck in that area and then the waters get really cold around them, it affects their migration, and then they become cold-stunned,” she said. “They cannot move to swim, they cannot move to eat, and they are stranded on those shores.”
A network of organizations, including a volunteer pilot group, coordinate to get the turtles to Florida.
The juvenile turtles, flown in from the Cape Cod area, are under the care of SeaWorld Orlando specialist for a few months. (SeaWorld Orlando)
“It’s truly such a collaborative event with all interstate connections, and it’s a crazy journey for them,” McCormack said. “I love the rehab of the camps because of that story, their journey.”
After their flight to Orlando, the turtles are given intake exams, radiographs, X-rays and other tests.
“A lot of them will develop pneumonia when they’re stranded up on the shores,” McCormack said. “A lot of their treatment is going to have antibiotics to help them with that pneumonia and help them recover. Not only are we slowly warming them up, which started up in Cape Cod with the triage, we’re observing them to make sure that they’re eating enough.”
The process of getting the animals sea-ready again generally takes three or four months, she said.
“They’re super-cute because they’re so small – they’re juveniles,” McCormack said. “So it would be a fatal event for them without this.”
Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are the smallest sea turtles in the world, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries. The length of an adult is about 2 feet, with weight between 70 and 100 pounds. The species once thrived in the Atlantic Ocean but experienced a sharp decline in the mid-20th century.
“They are the most endangered turtles of all the turtles, so every individual does play an important role in the recovery of the turtles,” Kelly Cluckey, senior zoological specialist, said in a SeaWorld-produced video. The company has been working with Kemp’s ridley rescues for 15 years, she said.
When the animals return to the ocean, they won’t require another flight.
“They were beginning their migration down the coast, and they had gotten stuck in the Cape Cod area,” McCormack said. “So we can return them off of the Florida coast over here, and that will be in their area.”
The 14 turtles are not normally spied by theme park guests, but the upcoming Inside Look event provides opportunity. (SeaWorld Orlando)
In the meantime, the healing turtles are backstage at SeaWorld Orlando, away from theme-park guests. But there’s an exception coming up. SeaWorld’s Inside Look event, scheduled for Jan. 10, 11, 17 and 18, will include an experience within the SeaWorld Rescue Center, where the Kemp’s are temporarily residing in medical pools.
New tours for Inside Look include the penguin habitat and an area dedicated to birds of prey. Inside Look — which features trainer talks, a scavenger hunt, a “Seal of Fortune” trivia show and more — is included with regular SeaWorld Orlando admission. A few activities require tickets that must be reserved in person on the day of the event. Those are first-come, first-served. For more details, go to seaworld.com/orlando.
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