After Rehabilitation, Sea Turtles Of Texas Extreme Weather Victim Are Released Into Sea

Turtle evacuation by Texas Warden Game. (Twitter/@TexasGameWarden)

JAKARTA - Dozens of Atlantic sea turtles have been returned to the high seas, after months of rehabilitation at a zoo in Texas. Meanwhile, six other turtles were released in Grapevine, Texas on the same day.

The turtles were part of a massive rescue of 4,000 turtles evacuated from the coast of South Padre Island, in February.

Residents voluntarily warmed the animals, after the state experienced unprecedented cold weather. Extreme weather hit Texas with snow and ice, setting record low temperatures and crippling citizen activity, including a network of people.

Also known as Atlantic leatherback turtles, the animals have been exposed to cold and experienced hypothermia reactions, due to prolonged contact with cold water.

When the water drops below 10 degrees Celsius, the turtle becomes weak and risks drowning because it cannot lift its head to breathe.

Veterinary staff at the Houston Zoo treated them until they recovered and released them into the Gulf of Mexico in Stewart Beach, Galveston. Their treatments include physical examinations, antibiotics, blood tests, and X-rays.

Turtle evacuation by Texas Warden Game. (Twitter/@TexasGameWarden)

Houston Zoo's Vice President of Animal Operations Lisa Marie Avendano called the release as the 'culmination of weeks of hard work'.

"It's really a shared ocean. And we are so grateful to be able to support the turtle community in New England when they need help for this amazing and amazing big event," he told Euronews.

Nevertheless, the zoo said there are still three turtles undergoing special treatment, as they are still undergoing the healing process from fungal pneumonia.

Previously, thousands of sea turtles that fainted due to extreme weather and snowstorms that hit the Southern United States, particularly Texas, had to be evacuated to warmer places to avoid worse things.

On South Padre Island, Texas, more than 4,000 sea turtles that fainted from the cold were evacuated. The turtles were brought from the Gulf of Mexico region by Sea Turtle Inc., a turtle conservation and rehabilitation agency.

While in the frilly waters of the Brownsville Ship Channel and the surrounding bay, the Texas Game Warden in charge of the Cameron region rescued 141 turtles from the area and was evacuated by sea aboard the PV motorboat Murchison.

"Fainting cold like this could potentially wipe out decades of hard work, and we're going through it without the power and unique challenges that are more devastating to our efforts," explained Sea Turtle Inc.'s Executive Director, Wendy Knight to The Washington Post.

The condition experienced by sea turtles is cold stun, a condition experienced by turtles where temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius cause cold-blooded animals to become lethargic. This means they can't swim or forage so they are stranded on the beach.