Sea Turtle Hospital receives record number of patients due to cold snap

Image by Flickr user motleypixel

The cold snap lingering along the east coast has caused more than 100 sea turtles to wash up along North Carolina beaches in the past week. In turn, the South Carolina Aquarium's Sea Turtle Rescue Program has taken in fourteen new patients.

The fourteen turtles were brought to the Aquarium's Sea Turtle Hospital Monday night by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the permitting agency for sea turtles. Five of the 14 were transported to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center Tuesday morning and nine will remain in the Aquarium's care until they are medically cleared for release. Of those nine turtles, seven are green sea turtles and two are Kemp's ridleys.

The new patients bring the Sea Turtle Hospital up to 18 sea turtles undergoing rehabilitation, the most the facility has ever treated at once. Staff has been working for the past week to clear space for the new patients.

You can help care for sea turtles stunned by the cold or those in recovery at the Aquarium's Sea Turtle Hospital by making an online donation. While online you can also visit the Sea Turtle Hospital's blog to track the progress of patients currently being cared for at the hospital.

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