More than a dozen loggerhead sea turtles, their systems in shock from unusually cold water, found refuge in Georgia last week after they were found stranded on the coast of North Carolina.
With sea turtle rehab centers filled to capacity in Florida and the Carolinas, the turtles were divvied up between the Georgia Aquarium and the Georgia Sea Turtle Center in Jekyll Island, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
The turtles were found Feb. 6 in a group on a beach of Ocracoke Island, N.C. Their gastrointestinal systems stopped functioning because of water temperatures in the low 40s.
Aquarium veterinary staff members coordinated the transfer of five turtles from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission to the aquarium’s quarantine and warehouse facility in Atlanta, where staff will treat and monitor the animals in an effort to save them. They hope to ultimately return the endangered creatures to the ocean.
The aquarium chronicled the trip to Georgia on flickr. Here’s a sample:
Turtles were moved one-by-one from the transport truck.
The turtles were moved into a net to be weighed, measured and checked for injuries.
After weighing, turtles were moved into large units, which were then filled with warm water, to gradually bring up their body temperatures.
Photos: Georgia Aquarium