Heartwarming: 30 turtles saved from frigid bay
Thirty turtles rescued from frigid Cape Cod waters that were mere shells of their old selves were flown from Marshfield to Baltimore yesterday to be treated for hypothermia before they can be freed.
The rescued Kemp’s ridley sea turtles were at the New England Aquarium’s sea turtle hospital in Quincy. They were flown by a volunteer pilot to the National Aquarium in Baltimore to continue their treatment in hopes of eventually releasing them to warmer waters.
Steve Bernstein, 47, of Montclair, N.J., flew the turtle tots — weighing in at no heavier than 6 pounds and no older than 3 years old — in his Beechcraft Bonanza airplane out of Marshfield’s airport.
Yesterday’s flight was the second time since 2014 Bernstein has flown to the Bay State to help rescue ill turtles. That year, he flew 50 turtles to North Carolina.
Bernstein lauded biologists, who have been warming up the hearts of the cold-blooded reptiles.
“They are super dedicated. I give them props. To me, they’re the heroes,” Bernstein said, whose passengers flew in cardboard banana boxes — two turtles per box.
“I don’t get to hang out with them too much,” Bernstein said. “They’re just kind of convalescing in their banana boxes. But they are kind of cute.”
Tony LaCasse, a spokesman for the New England Aquarium, said more than 100 hypothermic turtles have been rescued off Cape Cod during the past week and a half.
The turtles swim to Cape Cod in July to feast on crabs, LaCasse said. However, some get stuck on the north side of Cape Cod Bay, when they instinctively head due south without rounding the Cape.
“A lot of the young animals don’t figure that out, and they slowly get cold, hypothermic, over six to eight weeks.”
Rescued turtles are found to be emaciated, dehydrated and with pneumonia, LaCasse said. He added it is estimated there are fewer than 40,000 Kemp’s ridley adult turtles. The species is considered endangered, he said.
Nearly 200 more turtles are likely to find themselves in need of rescue during the next month and restoration to full turtle-power.
“We have to keep the space in the hospital for the new patients to come in. The season will last another five weeks,” LaCasse said.