Cold-stunned turtles nursed in Mississippi

Forty endangered sea turtles that were injured when the water off Massachusetts cooled down so quickly that they couldn’t swim away are being nursed back to health at the Mississippi Aquarium, flown there by volunteer group Turtles Fly Too.

All are Kemp’s ridleys, the world’s smallest sea turtles and the most endangered of the six species found in U.S. waters, the aquarium said in a news release Monday.

“All 40 of the Kemp’s ridleys are pretty small,” as little as 2.2 pounds (1 kilogram), said Alexa Delaune, the aquarium’s vice president of veterinary services. Most showed signs of pneumonia and would be treated with antibiotics, she said.

Sea turtles can become lethargic when stunned by chilly water.