In the News – Cold-Stunned Kemp’s Ridleys from Cape Cod Bay Flown to Florida for Rehab

By early December, the staff at the New England Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital has treated over two hundred cold-stunned Kemp’s ridley sea turtles that stranded on the beaches of Cape Cod Bay (see map above). Most of the turtles are juveniles that moved from the ocean to inshore waters during the summer to forage. As they migrate south for the winter, they get trapped in the bay’s hook-like geography and when winter sets in, they get hypothermia and strand.

Because the New England Aquarium expects even more strandings this winter, their more stable patients have been transferred to sea turtle hospitals in Florida for rehab. Listed below are some of the Florida facilities that have recently received endangered Kemp’s ridleys from the New England Aquarium. Included are links to news reports and press releases with additional information and videos.

• The Florida Aquarium, Tampa, FL
  “Six Cold-Stunned Turtles Flown to Tampa for Critical Care at The Florida Aquarium” (December 5, 2024)
  
• The Turtle Hospital, Marathon, FL
  “Chilly Sea Turtles from New England Flown to Florida Keys to Warm Up” (December 13, 2024)
  
• Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, Boca Raton, FL and Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Juno Beach, FL
  “Endangered Sea Turtles Recover in Florida after ‘Cold-stunning’ in Massachusetts” (December 15, 2024)
  
• Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Clearwater, FL
  “Clearwater Marine Aquarium Takes in 12 Endangered Cold-stunned Kemp’s Ridley Turtles for Winter Rehabilitation” (December 18, 2024)

Many of the sea turtles made their journey to the Sunshine State via private jet thanks to the non-profit Turtles Fly Too which coordinates and facilitates the relocation sea turtles. To learn more about their work, visit their website at: https://www.turtlesflytoo.org/.

Number of Cold-Stunned Sea Turtles in Cape Cod Bay Has Increased Over the Last 20 Years

A December 3^rd Associated Press report – “Global Warming Fills New England’s Rich Waters with Death Traps for Endangered Sea Turtles” – provides additional insight. In 2010, the average number of cold-stunned sea turtles that washed up in Cape Cod was 40. This year, the New England Aquarium expect at least 400.

Recent research has found that as sea surface temperatures increase, sea turtles are traveling farther north which make stranding events in winter more likely. For additional information, see this 2019 study: “Warming Seas Increase Cold-stunning Events for Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles in the Northwest Atlantic.”

More Pictures and Videos:

• The Turtle Hospital’s Facebook Post
  “Twenty critically endangered Kemp’s Ridleys Arrive in Florida Keys” (December 13, 2024)
  
• Smithsonian Magazine
  “Hundreds of Sea Turtles with Hypothermia Are Washing Up in Cape Cod, Cold-Stunned as Temperatures Drop” (December 5, 2024)
  
• Associated Press Video
  “Cape Cod’s Hook-shaped Geography Traps Endangered Sea Turtles in Cold Waters, Stunning Hundreds” (December 3, 2024)