Rescued Turtles Head Back to the Gulf in Destin

Who, seriously, doesn’t like helping out with the sea turtles that come onto shore around here? It’s one of the staples of living in the Gulf Coast year after year. If you’re unfamiliar with what goes on with these turtles; they migrate and make their way onto the shore to lay their eggs along the coast. After the sea turtles have hatched, hundreds of people come onto the shores to help them back to the water and watch them leave. Some of the older turtles, however, get stuck on shore due to many reasons. This year, it was the weather.

These turtles ended up on the shores of the Panhandle due to the cold weather that we all received recently. With temperatures dropping into the 30’s at night and staying around the 50’s during the day for a few weeks, these turtles were stunned by the cold weather and unable to get back to the water on their own. Unfortunately, another turtle who was not part of the other seven, had been hooked at the Navarre Fishing Pier and needed surgery. “The final turtle to be released [is] a sub-adult Loggerhead. When he was found, he was in severe condition, with nine hooks in his system and led weights.”

After rehabilitation, these turtles were ready to be brought back into the water. With a crowd of more than 300 people lining the shores in Destin, FL at Henderson State Park, people came out to watch the turtles make it back to the water. It was stated on January 28th, 2018 that: “The Gulfarium’s C.A.R.E. Center will  be releasing nine rehabilitated turtles. Seven of which were cold stunned sea turtles…” said Meredith Horn, Director of Marketing and Communication. Many children and parents also commented about how great the experience was to go watch these turtles go back into the ocean, even people coming all the way from Birmingham, AL.

It was a cool 58 degrees with calm seas during the release. The weather seemed perfect to let these turtles get back into the water. Gulfarium’s C.A.R.E. Center also made an event on Facebook to let people know when the release would be to keep people informed. As seen on Facebook, 336 people were going to the event. Once these turtles were released, they were free to live their lives.

“With no signs of struggle, the release went swimmingly well and the turtles took to the water.
After each turtle is treated at the Gulfarium C.A.R.E. Center, the turtles are tagged and released into the gulf.” stated the C.A.R.E. employees post release.

http://www.mypanhandle.com/news/rescued-turtles-head-back-to-the-gulf/941100666

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