The ocean is full of life. The water is home to hundreds of different species.
Most will go from birth to death, never leaving the waters. But for one endangered species, their very existence hinges on the help of those on land – and air.
Sea turtles have found themselves enjoying the ever-warming waters, as the earth gets a bit hotter each year.
The problem – warmer waters lead to the sea turtles spending more time in one place. However, because the waters are staying warmer, the sea turtles end up stuck once the waters become cold in the winter months.
This past winter, a large group of sea turtles were found lifeless on the cold beaches of Cape Cod Bay in Massachusetts. They were frozen and near death, in a process called cold-stunning.
Vets prepare to load sea turtles on a flight with Turtles Fly Too. Photo by Jekyll Island Authority
According to the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association), cold-stunning is when “sea turtles become very weak and inactive from exposure to cold temperatures,” below 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
“The turtles, especially today, 38 degrees, if that turtle sits out for two, three hours, I mean, it’s gonna die,” said biologist Bob Prescott.
(The turtles are) just not going to recover from that kind of shock, from the cold.”
The turtles normally spend their time along the warmer waters of the Gulf of Mexico, said Donna Shaver, the head of Turtle Rescue Group in Texas.
“If we don’t help save this species, we lose a piece that enriches us,” Shaver said.
So how do you save turtles who can no longer swim? You buy them a plane ticket. Or at least, bring in the group Turtles Fly Too.
A turtle gets help breathing. Photo by Jekyll Island Authority
Created by Leslie Weinstein in 2014, the organization utilizes donated planes and pilots to fly the endangered sea turtles back to a warmer climate. Weinstein said his goal since he was young was to save the turtles, and help others learn how to work with them.
“You have to understand that these are endangered species, you are not allowed to touch them, handle them or have them in your possession,” Weinstein said.
The turtles that are often found, he said, suffer from varying degrees of pneumonia. Often there are such extreme cases that some turtles will need ventilator help to breathe. Injuries can range from fractured bones to dehydration.
Ken Andrews, vice president of Turtles Fly Too, said that the on-the-ground rescuers are often desperate to find help for the turtles.
“There is no agency,” he said. “There’s no staffing. There’s no funding. There’s nothing there to make this mission happen.”
And these turtles will die if somebody like Turtles Fly Too doesn’t jump in to help.”
Andrews said that they wouldn’t be successful in helping if it wasn’t for the hundreds of pilots who donate their spare time, as well as planes and plane fuel, to fly the sea turtles to various facilities around the United States.
“It is a life fight, it’s a med-evac flight, absolutely,” Andrews said.
A turtle swims in water designed to warm it up. Photo by Jekyll Island Authority
He said the organization runs completely on the generosity of the pilots, and that they do not have any funding. “What funding? I wish!” Andrews laughed. “We desperately need it. Our pilots that are flying these missions are pulling $1 million out of their pocket to fly these missions every year for us.”
But it’s all worth it. “Ninety percent of the turtles that we’ve moved to rehab have ended up back in the ocean,” Andrews said.
Veterinarian Tim Tristan couldn’t agree more. As the director for the Texas Sealife Center in Corpus Christi, he has rehabilitated quite a few turtles thanks to Turtles Fly Too.
Tristan said that while it can take time to nurse them back to health, they have good staff and volunteers. “If (the turtles) can make it through our front door, we have a pretty good success rate with getting ’em turned around and getting ’em back out into the wild where they belong,” he said.
I guess for these lucky sea turtles, going home again is an option thanks to these amazing volunteers. For a look at their organization and how they handle the rescues of the sea turtles, watch below.
