Audubon Aquarium Rescue Releases Sea Turtles on Mississippi Beach

A team from Audubon Aquarium Rescue released twenty-nine endangered sea turtles today along the beach in Biloxi, Mississippi. The turtles were all cold stunned from winter weather and were successfully treated and rehabilitated by the Aquarium team.

Sea turtles are cold-blooded and cannot regulate their body temperature. As a result, when water temperatures drop, sea turtles can become hypothermic or “cold-stunned.” Twenty-seven of the turtles released today in the Gulf came from a large cold-stunning event last fall in Massachusetts and were sent to New Orleans for additional care while they recovered. Two other turtles released today were green sea turtles found suffering cold stunning near Port Fourchon.

Both species of sea turtles are found in the Gulf. The Mississippi location was selected for the turtle’s safety to avoid an oil spill off the Louisiana coast.

February through June is peak turtle stranding season in Louisiana. With more than 7,700 square miles of complex coastline for AAR to cover, public reporting is critical to helping find stranded animals. If you spot stranded or out-of-habitat marine mammals and sea turtles (live or dead) call Audubon Aquarium Rescue at 877-942-5343.

Audubon Aquarium Rescue is the only authorized entity for marine mammal and sea turtle stranding response and rehabilitation in Louisiana and is dedicated to the humane care and treatment of injured, ill, or displaced marine animals. AAR is committed to enhancing stranding response and collecting data of live and dead marine mammals and sea turtles in Louisiana. The data collected from stranded animals provides a snapshot into the health of the marine environment and provides a better understanding of threats to marine mammals and sea turtles in the wild.