Texas State Aquarium: Nearly 300 cold-stunned green sea turtles rescued and released

Of almost 300 sea turtles recovering at a Texas State Aquarium facility after being cold-stunned, one stood out to Cara Swallow: the smallest green sea turtle.

Swallow, the aquarium's marketing and communications manager, recalled the day that volunteers from Padre Island National Seashore brought the turtles. When she saw the "tiny one," she said, "I knew what we were doing was all worth it. A sea turtle that small couldn't have made it. If it didn't get treatment from us, it wouldn't have made it."

The cold weather the Coastal Bend experienced over Christmas weekend affected not only the community, but the wildlife, as well.

In a news release Tuesday, the Texas State Aquarium Wildlife Rescue Team announced nearly 300 cold-stunned sea turtles were admitted to its Wildlife Rescue Program. The turtles recovered in an emergency rehabilitation pool made of a repurposed dam flood control system.

When water and air temperatures drop rapidly in shallow bays and estuaries, like the Laguna Madre, sea turtles become lethargic and are unable to swim.

On Wednesday, aquarium CEO and President Jesse Gilbert said the green sea turtles came in between last Saturday and Monday.

"Last Friday was such an intensely cold day, so the turtles that came in Saturday were in really bad shape," Gilbert said. "We had a lot of them recovered and slowly warmed them up. When the turtles are in water, they're moving their muscles and getting them ready to get back to the wild."

Gilbert said about 30 sea turtles did not make it, but that was a "fairly decent" number compared to how many were rescued.

Swallow said about 280 sea turtles would be released Thursday. She said it's important for the aquarium to take care of the wildlife because the nonprofit is "more than an attraction."

"People care when they know we're saving animals," Swallow said. "The community is getting invested in how important it is to save sea turtles. That's so cool to see. These are endangered species. At the end of the day, whatever you can do to help an animal in need is worth everything."

At Padre Balli Park on Thursday, a crowd of about 20 people watched as members of the aquarium's Wildlife Rescue Team and National Park Service tagged and released the green sea turtles into the sea. Some remaining loggerhead sea turtles the aquarium had been caring for since July were also released.

Swallow said she'd shown her children a photo of the smallest sea turtle so they could see "why Momma comes to work" — to help make a difference for wildlife.

"These are 300 sea turtles going back in the water we were able to recover," Swallow said. "It's a really good way to end and begin the new year."

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John Oliva covers entertainment and community news in South Texas. Contact him at john.oliva@caller.com or Twitter @johnpoliva.

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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Nearly 300 cold-stunned sea turtles rescued and released