KURE BEACH, N.C. — When the temperatures drop in the Carolinas, it's not just a sign to cover your outdoor faucets and protect your plants. It's also a sign of other major changes the natural world can see.
But what happens on the North Carolina coast when temperatures drop? Alarmingly, frigid waters can hit one favorite marine species hard.
Sea turtles, which are naturally cold-blooded reptiles, become cold-stunned when temperatures drop. It's like how humans face hypothermia in frigid conditions. But the turtles then get washed ashore and need help to be rehabilitated and returned to the wild.
The North Carolina Aquariums located at Fort Fisher, Pine Knoll Shores, and Roanoke Island had to help cold-stunned sea turtles when during the cold snap that started on Dec. 20, 2022. Nearly 250 turtles washed ashore during a two-week period along Cape Lookout National Seashore, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and Core Sound. The turtles that were cold-stunned included loggerheads, greens, and Kemp's ridleys, all unable to swim because of the sudden temperature drop.
The aquariums joined forces with the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Surf City to get the turtles treated. This saw the turtles admitted to the Sea Turtle Assistance and Rehabilitation Center (STAR Center) ad the Fort Fisher aquarium for further treatment during those two weeks.
It took the efforts of National Parks staff and volunteers with the Network for Endangered Sea Turtles (N.E.S.T) to get the creatures to safety. Those efforts were praised by Emily Christiansen, the chief veterinarian at North Carolina Aquariums.
“Turtles came in steadily. A special thanks to the teams at the Aquariums and the other turtle heroes this season—the area National Parks staff and N.E.S.T. volunteers who spent their holiday patrolling the beaches in miserably cold temperatures for days on end to locate and rescue as many as possible," she said.
“Together, our North Carolina Aquarium teams have been responding quickly and compassionately to support the rehabilitation of this large number of cold-stunned sea turtles. It is an honor to work with so many partners and volunteer organizations to rehabilitate these turtles and get them back to warmer waters in the ocean,” said Hap Fatzinger, director of the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher.
The process of helping sea turtles starts when cold-stunning is confirmed. Turtles who are rescued in Ocracoke, North Carolina, and up north to the Virginia state line are transported to the STAR Center for triage, while those found in Cape Lookout and south are taken to the Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST). Once initial physicals, treatments, and assessments are done, the NC Aquarium veterinary team and staff with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission distribute turtles to rehabilitation facilities along the coast. This includes the aquariums and the Beasley Center.
The turtles then start the rehabilitation process with veterinarians slowly warming the creatures to optimal body temperature. The rehab teams also give the turtles any necessary medications, treat any injuries, and build up the turtles' body condition to ensure they can swim and get back into nature. The turtles are then given a final check once they're deemed healthy, and then released with a microchip tag. Should that turtle get stranded again, that chip can be scanned so its information can be quickly accessed by veterinarians.
Fortunately, many turtles do make a quick recovery; 16 so far have already been released. More turtles will also be released into the Gulf Stream as well, where the water is close to 70 degrees in the winter. Crews from the Duke Marine Laboratory in Beaufort, NC Wildlife Resources Commission, the U.S. Coast Guard, CMAST, UNC Institute of Marine Sciences, and other volunteers make the releases happen.