{"id":8223,"date":"2010-11-25T17:12:47","date_gmt":"2010-11-25T22:12:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=8223"},"modified":"2010-11-25T19:08:48","modified_gmt":"2010-11-26T00:08:48","slug":"thanksgiving-sea-turtle-rescues-for-turtle-journal-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=8223","title":{"rendered":"Thanksgiving Sea Turtle Rescues For Turtle Journal Family"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Jared Nourse Rescues Tiny Green Sea Turtle<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A cold front plowed\u00c2\u00a0through the Mid West and stormed into New England for the Thanksgiving holiday.\u00c2\u00a0 Northwest winds swept across Cape Cod Bay, driving thunderous surf onto beaches from Barnstable to Truro, and tossing helpless cold-stunned sea turtles onto the shore.\u00c2\u00a0 These tropical and semi-tropical sea turtles that were trapped in Cape Cod Bay by plunging ocean temperatures\u00c2\u00a0became cold-stunned and entered stupor as the sea water thermometer dropped into the low 50s.\u00c2\u00a0 Like flotsam and jetsam, they get bounced around the bay until powerful weather conditions and high tides\u00c2\u00a0push them ashore.\u00c2\u00a0 Then, if rescuers can be on the beach to\u00c2\u00a0discover them before fatal hypothermia sets in, these turtles have a good chance of returning safely to the wild where they will restore declining populations.<\/p>\n

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Turtle Journal Rescues Three Cold-Stunned Sea Turtles<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

High tide came at 1:30 am and the NW wind direction indicated that likely beaches would include East Dennis, Brewster, Orleans, Eastham and Wellfleet.\u00c2\u00a0 The Turtle Journal team drew Brewster beaches from Paine’s Creek (near the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History) through Point of Rocks.\u00c2\u00a0 With a westerly component in the wind, the objective is to walk from west to east, keeping the wind at your back rather than in your face.\u00c2\u00a0 We reached Paine’s Creek a little after 1:30 am.\u00c2\u00a0 Sue Wieber Nourse and Jared Nourse took the first leg of the patrol from Paine’s Creek to Breakwater; Don Lewis had the easterly leg from Breakwater to Point of Rocks.<\/p>\n

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Jared Nourse and Sue Wieber Nourse with Green and 2 Ridleys<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Sue Wieber Nourse spotted the first turtle, a medium sized juvenile Kemp’s ridley about a 1\/4 mile east of Paine’s Creek.\u00c2\u00a0 Jared discovered a smaller Kemp’s ridley about a 1\/4 mile west of Saints Landing and a tiny green sea turtle west of the Breakwater seawall.<\/p>\n

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Tiny, Cold-Stunned\u00c2\u00a0Green Sea Turtle<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

While Kemp’s ridleys are the more endangered species, it is always a special event to recover a small green sea turtle from the surf.\u00c2\u00a0 Here on Cape Cod,\u00c2\u00a0greens are relatively rare, perhaps two or three percent of all cold-stunned sea turtles.\u00c2\u00a0 So, the rarity of finding one makes them special.\u00c2\u00a0 They’re also arguably the most beautiful sea turtle, even when in cold-stunned stupor.\u00c2\u00a0 Unlike Kemp’s ridleys and loggerheads, their carapace (top shell) always seems highly polished and free of algae.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 When opened, their big puppy-like eyes add a certain cuteness factor.<\/p>\n

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Creamy White Plastron of Green Sea Turtle<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Even their plastron (bottom shell) seems creamy white and shows very little algae build-up.\u00c2\u00a0 All in all, a very beautiful creature!\u00c2\u00a0 This specimen measured\u00c2\u00a0only 23 centimters (9 inches) from the leading edge to the trailing edge of its shell.<\/p>\n

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Two Juvenile Cold-Stunned Kemp’s Ridleys<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the Kemp’s ridleys was fairly small, while the second was a bit larger.\u00c2\u00a0 Because these animals are helpless in the sea, they tend to be blown ashore by physics rather than biology; that is, by size with the smaller first.\u00c2\u00a0 As strandings progress, larger and larger animals predominate until near the end of the stranding season, when massive loggerheads rule the beach.<\/p>\n

More turtles\u00c2\u00a0were discovered\u00c2\u00a0on Thanksgiving Day as holiday visitors walked the beaches.\u00c2\u00a0 The winds have subsided now\u00c2\u00a0and whether or not we launch middle of the night patrols again this evening will depend on what the midday tide yields.<\/p>\n