100 young, endangered sea turtles left stranded after Texas flooding

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100 young, endangered sea turtles left stranded after Texas flooding
IMG_4324.jpg
In this May 24, 2019 photo, provided by the Texas State Aquarium, a sea turtle is seen during rescue and rehabilitation at the Texas State Aquarium Wildlife Rescue Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.
In this May 24, 2019 photo, provided by the Texas State Aquarium, a sea turtle is seen during rescue and rehabilitation at the Texas State Aquarium Wildlife Rescue Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.
AP
ASSOCIATED PRESS | 13 hours ago

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Roughly 100 young and endangered sea turtles were stranded by flooding and later rescued by wildlife officials in Texas.

Officials released about 80 of them back into the Gulf of Mexico after they spent time in an aquarium.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – High tides and flooding associated with May storms that buffeted parts of Texas caused the stranding of about 100 endangered sea turtles along part of the Gulf coast, experts say.


Jesse Gilbert, Chief Operating Officer of the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi, said Monday that the juvenile green sea turtles “just couldn’t beat the waves” and were tossed around along the shore. The turtles were caught in water pushed up against the dunes on Padre Island National Seashore, Gilbert said.

Wildlife officials helped gather and transport the green sea turtles, with the largest about the size of a dinner plate, to the aquarium, he said.

“They literally just looked exhausted. They were a little bit dehydrated,” said Gilbert, describing the endangered turtles.


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During normal spring weather, the wildlife center may have about a half-dozen young turtles wash ashore each month. More than 100 green sea turtles were rescued during two weeks starting in mid-May, Gilbert said.

In this May 24, 2019 photo, provided by the Texas State Aquarium, wildlife rescue staff Emma Gilbert, left, and Joleene Zamora care for a sea turtle during rescue and rehabilitation at the Texas State Aquarium Wildlife Rescue Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.
In this May 24, 2019 photo, provided by the Texas State Aquarium, wildlife rescue staff Emma Gilbert, left, and Joleene Zamora care for a sea turtle during rescue and rehabilitation at the Texas State Aquarium Wildlife Rescue Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.
AP
About 80 of the rested turtles were released into the Gulf of Mexico last Thursday. Most of the rest should be returned to the water this week, he said.


The National Weather Service on May 12 began issuing about 10 days of coastal flooding advisories. Winds were feeding all the moisture into the storms up in the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma, plus the Central Plains, according to local weather reports.

In this May 28, 2019 photo, provided by the Texas State Aquarium, sea turtles are seen during rescue and rehabilitation at the Texas State Aquarium Wildlife Rescue Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.
In this May 28, 2019 photo, provided by the Texas State Aquarium, sea turtles are seen during rescue and rehabilitation at the Texas State Aquarium Wildlife Rescue Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.
AP
Tourists and other visitors should contact wildlife officials if they spot stranded turtles along the Texas coast, Gilbert said.

“Don’t pick them up,” Gilbert said, noting the green sea turtle is a protected species.
 

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