CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Frigid temperatures brought life to a halt for hundreds of green sea turtles that were cold-stunned off the Texas Gulf Coast this past week. In Corpus Christi, half a dozen agencies and local organizations came together to rescue the beloved creatures.
Cold air and water temperatures, which affected much of the U.S. this past week, incapacitated the turtles and left them vulnerable to predators, drowning, illness and freezing to death.
Tens of thousands of turtles are at risk when temperatures drop in the region. On Monday and Tuesday, 522 turtles were rescued in the Corpus Christi area. Of those, 332 were brought to the Texas State Aquarium’s Center for Wildlife Rescue.
There, a team of more than 30 veterinarians, biologists and emergency operations managers assessed the turtles to determine whether they needed additional medical care or were strong enough to swim. Some turtles required intubation and specialized care to restart their breathing.
The Texas State Aquarium opened the rescue center in response to cold-stunning events that followed Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
“Ten years ago, this would have been a herculean effort,” said Jesse Gilbert, the president and CEO of the aquarium.
The turtles will stay at the rescue center until temperatures rise to the upper 50s and they can safely be released.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.