{"id":2382,"date":"2009-03-11T22:08:37","date_gmt":"2009-03-12T03:08:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=2382"},"modified":"2010-01-16T12:44:33","modified_gmt":"2010-01-16T17:44:33","slug":"juvenile-cold-stunned-terrapin-rescued-from-boat-meadow-beach-in-eastham-cape-cod","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=2382","title":{"rendered":"Juvenile Cold-Stunned Terrapin Rescued from Boat Meadow Beach in Eastham, Cape Cod"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"juvenile-terp-10-mar-09-008-840\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Three-Year-Old, Cold-Stunned Diamondback Terrapin<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Those weeks between the depth of winter’s freeze and the arrival of spring temperatures\u00c2\u00a0in April present real risks to Outer Cape diamondback terrapins that have spent the cold, dark days since October buried under the oozy bottom of Cape Cod Bay estuaries, such as Boat Meadow Creek in Eastham.\u00c2\u00a0 Not often, but with enough frequency to effect at least a handful of these threatened turtles each year, terrapins become dislodged from their hibernacula either through severe natural conditions or human intervention.\u00c2\u00a0 Once exposed to the air and unprotected from nightly freezes, these critters face certain death unless they are discovered and rescued.\u00c2\u00a0 (See Frozen Diamondback Terrapin Rescued from Near Certain Death in Wellfleet Harbor<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0from February 21st.)<\/p>\n

\"juvenile-terp-10-mar-09-004-840\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Low-Tide Drained Tidal Flats off Boat Meadow Creek in Eastham<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Around four o’clock on Monday afternoon a call came into\u00c2\u00a0Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 A local twosome, Donna Cary and Roger McKenzie, were enjoying a sunny afternoon beachcombing along the tidal flats when they were surprised to find a small, distressed turtle mid-way down the tidal flats.<\/p>\n

\"juvenile-terp-10-mar-09-000-840\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Roger McKenzie and Donna Cary with Cold-Stunned Terrapin<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As Donna noted, “It just didn’t seem to belong right there on the beach.”\u00c2\u00a0 They scooped up the obviously troubled critter and brought it back to their nearby cottage.\u00c2\u00a0 Having followed Mass Audubon<\/a>‘s work with cold-stunned sea turtles, they laid down a towel on the floor and placed the terrapin in “dry dock” while they called for help.<\/p>\n

\"juvenile-terp-10-mar-09-009-840\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Juvenile Terrapin Shell\u00c2\u00a0Shows History of Hard Life in Eastham<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This y0ung turtle showed signs of a fairly hard life in Eastham’s Boat Meadow Creek.\u00c2\u00a0 A substantial break in the shell between the third and fourth left costal scutes\u00c2\u00a0resulted from some earlier trauma such as a boat or instrument strike, since the wound had healed.\u00c2\u00a0 She had scrapes and scratches on carapace and plastron.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Click Here to View Video in High Quality<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Cold-Stunned Juvenile Terrapin from Boat Meadow Beach<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But her immediate problem is cold-stunning.\u00c2\u00a0 The most worrisome sign is the bleeding around the eyes, which she has yet to open.\u00c2\u00a0 Previous experience with terrapins that have endured cold-stunning has taught us that when the blood vessels in their eyes have popped, the chance of full recovery for release into the wild is vastly diminished.\u00c2\u00a0 It may\u00c2\u00a0be an indicator of irreversible brain damage.\u00c2\u00a0 Still, we never give up until the turtle gives up, and 24 hours is too soon to make a definitive prognosis.<\/p>\n

\"juvenile-terp-10-mar-09-016-cropped-840\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Close-Up Image\u00c2\u00a0of Three-Year-Old Cold-Stunned Diamondback Terrapin<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The close-up photograph above provides a clear view of her annual growth rings in the first left costal scute\u00c2\u00a0with the original hatchling ring in the center and three yearly growth strips leading to the suture.<\/p>\n

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Click Here to View Video in High Quality<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Recovering Cold-Stunned 3-Year-Old Terrapin in Rehab<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This seriously impaired turtle\u00c2\u00a0is resting comfortably in\u00c2\u00a0rehabilitation\u00c2\u00a0“dry\u00c2\u00a0dock” in a\u00c2\u00a0warm, humid environment.\u00c2\u00a0 Every few hours she is bathed gently in warm, fresh water to maintain her hydration while she recovers.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"juvenile-terp-10-mar-09-013-cropped-840\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Cold-Stunned Juvenile Terrapin Resting Comfortably in Rehab<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three-Year-Old, Cold-Stunned Diamondback Terrapin Those weeks between the depth of winter’s freeze and the arrival of spring temperatures\u00c2\u00a0in April present real risks to Outer Cape diamondback terrapins that have spent the cold, dark days since October buried under the oozy bottom of Cape Cod Bay estuaries, such as Boat Meadow Creek in Eastham.\u00c2\u00a0 Not often, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2382"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2382"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2399,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2382\/revisions\/2399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}