100 cold-stunned sea turtles from Cape Cod sent to Florida, Mississippi for rehab

By CBSBoston.com Staff

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    BOSTON (WBZ) — One hundred endangered sea turtles will make the trip from Massachusets to Mississippi or Florida on Tuesday. They will be continuing their hypothermia rehabilitation after washing up on the beaches of Cape Cod.

Staff at Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary search the beaches for stranded turtles and transport them to the New England Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy and the National Marine Life Center (NMLC) in Bourne for treatment.

Cold-stunned turtles can suffer from life-threatening medical conditions like pneumonia and dehydration because they are unable to regulate their body temperature and feed.

The New England Aquarium makes alternative arrangements for the turtles down South as their facilities fill up.

Each year, hundreds of cold-stunned turtles get caught in the quick-changing water temperatures off Massachusetts.

In the past three weeks alone, the team at the New England Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital has cared for more than 350 live sea turtles and NMLC has treated 87.

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