Six Kemp’s ridley sea turtles that were found cold-stunned at Cape Lookout National Seashore are now under the professional care of animal experts at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher.
A total of 200 cold-stunned sea turtles that have been in the care of the three North Carolina Aquariums in recent weeks.
Stephanie Dwyer, assistant husbandry curator at the aquarium, said sea turtles are reptiles and are not able to strictly regulate their body temperature like mammals and birds, and when they get extremely cold they become lethargic and eventually are unable to swim.
Rehabilitation for a cold-stunned sea turtle can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months, and then they are released back into the ocean.
