Sea turtles make great escape from Galveston

Transcription

1 Excellent day for sea turtles on the upper Texas coast!!! Sea turtles make great escape from Galveston By JOHN WAYNE FERGUSON The Daily News GALVESTON Storm clouds and soggy sand couldn t stop dozens of sea turtles from making their escape from Galveston Island. A box truck carrying 50 sea turtles showed up at Stewart Beach just before 8 a.m. Wednesday. Despite pouring rain and lashing lightning, dozens of people also showed up to watch employees from the Houston Zoo, Moody Gardens and NOAA s Galveston Sea Turtle Facility shuttle one loggerhead turtle and dozens of smaller Kemp s ridley sea turtles across the beach and into the surf. Every year, NOAA and other groups release hundreds of turtles back into the Gulf of Mexico, said Ben Higgins, the sea turtle program manager for the NOAA facility. Many of those releases are done quietly, or in the open water. But with the number of turtles that were ready to be released on Wednesday, the groups decided to do a beach event. We had the opportunity here for animals that live right of the beach right here in Texas, and we had the opportunity to let the public participate, Higgins said. As turtles were taken out of crates on the truck, they were handed to rescuers wearing Kevlar gloves (to protect against the turtles powerful jaws). The rescuers then paraded the turtles, most of them flapping energetically, in front of onlookers before depositing them at the shore line. Most of the turtles instinctively began to move toward the water, although a few needed some extra encouragement or a wave in the face before making their way back into the wild. Most of the turtles released Wednesday came to Galveston from Massachusetts in November. They had had been stunned by the cold New England waters of Cape Cod, and, unable to move or eat, had washed up on beaches. Boston s New England Aquarium rescued the turtles but was overwhelmed by the number more than 1,200 in all that needed medical attention. he animals were sent to other aquariums and rescue facilities around the country.

2 The turtles suffered from various maladies because of the cold. In Galveston, they were fed, warmed and treated with antibiotics and other medications, and then monitored for more than six months. Some of them had pneumonia, some of them had frostbite, some of them lost bits of flipper or bit of shell, said Joe Flanagan, the chief veterinarian at the Houston Zoo, who oversaw the treatment of the animals. Of all the turtles that were brought to Galveston from New England, only one died, Higgins said. Today is a great day, because it s sort of graduation day for the turtles, Flanagan said. They re all going back home. It s really rewarding. Link to video at TPWD Facebook page: - scroll down to see it. Also this link from the Houston Zoo: Photos: More than 50 sea turtles are released into the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday May 27, 2015 at Stewart Beach in Galveston, Texas.. Forty-nine of the turtles were Kemp s ridleys and were part of a group brought in last December after being stunned by the cold in New England. They were part of a record setting cold stunning event which included a total of 1,200 turtles. The Boston Aquarium sent the sick turtles to NOAA s Galveston Sea Turtle Facility as well as 17 other zoos and aquariums throughout the country. Martha Parker, with the Houston Zoo, lets the crowd get a closer look at one of the Kemp s ridley sea turtles being release at Stewart Beach in Galveston, Texas on Wednesday May 27, It was part of a group brought to the island last December after being stunned by the cold in New England.

3 A 100-pound loggerhead sea turtle crawls past a crowd on Stewart Beach in Galveston, Texas as it heads into the Gulf. The sea turtle was one of 51 turtles released Wednesday May 27, Andy Krauss, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's sea turtle facility in Galveston, releases a Kemp's ridley sea turtle into the Gulf on Wednesday May 27, 2015 at Stewart Beach. It was one of a group of turtles brought to the island last December after being stunned by the cold in New England.

4 A Kemp s ridley sea turtle heads into the Gulf on Wednesday May 27, 2015, at Stewart Beach in Galveston, Texas. It was part of a group brought to the island last December after being stunned by the cold in New England. A Kemp's ridley sea turtle heads into the Gulf on Wednesday May 27, 2015 at Stewart Beach in Galveston. It was one of a group of turtles brought to the island last December after being stunned by the cold in New England.

5 Andy Krauss, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's sea turtle facility in Galveston, lets Gavin Garret, left, his brother, Alec and their mother, Stephanie, get a closer look at a Kemp's ridley sea turtle Wednesday May 27, 2015, before releasing it into the Gulf at Stewart Beach. It was one of a group of turtles brought to the island last December after being stunned by the cold in New England. Crowds line the beach to watch more than 50 sea turtles be released into the Gulf at Stewart Beach in Galveston, Texas on Wednesday May 27, Many of the sea turtles were brought to the island last December after being stunned by the cold in New England.

6 People line the beach during a morning thunderstorm to watch as more than 50 sea turtles are released into the Gulf at Stewart Beach in Galveston on Wednesday May 27, Carlos Rios, a volunteer at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's sea turtle facility in Galveston, holds up one of nearly 50 Kemp's ridley sea turtles being released into the Gulf at Stewart Beach in Galveston on Wednesday May 27, 2015.

7 A Kemp's ridley sea turtle heads into the Gulf on Wednesday May 27, 2015 at Stewart Beach in Galveston. It was one a group of turtles brought to the island last December after being stunned by the cold in New England. Lyndsey Howell, a research fishery biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, lets Chandra Hedman and her daughter, Kendall, get a closer look at a Kemp's ridley sea turtle before releasing it into the Gulf at Stewart Beach in Galveston on Wednesday May 27, The turtle was one of several brought to the island last December after being stunned by the cold in New England.

8 Crowds line the beach to watch more than 50 sea turtles be released into the Gulf at Stewart Beach in Galveston, Texas on Wednesday May 27, Many of the sea turtles were brought to the island last December after being stunned by the cold in New England. Lyndsey Howell, a research fishery biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, releases a Kemp's ridley sea turtle into the Gulf at Stewart Beach in Galveston on Wednesday May 27, The turtle was one of a group of turtles brought to the island last December after being stunned by the cold in New England.

9 Ben Higgins, program manager for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's sea turtle facility in Galveston, lets the crowd get a closer look at a Kemp's ridley sea turtle Wednesday May 27, 2015, before releasing it into the Gulf at Stewart Beach. It was one of a group of turtles brought to the island last December after being stunned by the cold in New England. Andy Krauss, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's sea turtle facility in Galveston, lets the crowd get a closer look at a Kemp's ridley sea turtle Wednesday May 27, 2015, before releasing it into the Gulf at Stewart Beach. It was one of a group of turtles brought to the island last December after being stunned by the cold in New England.

10 A 100-pound loggerhead sea turtle crawls past a crowd on Stewart Beach in Galveston, Texas as it heads into the Gulf. The sea turtle was one of 51 turtles released Wednesday May 27, 2015.

11 We also had a false crawl on Tuesday May 26 th on Galveston Island around 35 th Street perhaps another female who will nest this season. Below are examples of what crawls that female sea turtle make when coming ashore to nest. A false nesting crawl of a sea turtle turtle did not nest.

12 Example of crawl up the beach by a sea turtle in preparation to nest. Kemp s ridley nesting efforts for the upper Texas coast for 2015: Location Found (north to south) Number of nests Bolivar Peninsula 3 Galveston Island 1 Brazoria County, N. of Surfside - Surfside Beach 1 Quintana Beach - Bryan Beach 2 Brazoria County, N. of Sargent Beach - Sargent Beach -