SeaWorld San Diego releases second-ever sea turtle found cold-stunned in Canada
SeaWorld San Diego has released a rehabilitated sea turtle back into the ocean after it was found cold-stunned in Canada, following a successful rehabilitation by the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society. Moira is only the second loggerhead sea turtle ever to be found in British Columbia waters.
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- SeaWorld San Diego has released a sea turtle back into the ocean following a successful rehabilitation after it was found cold-stunned in Canada.
Moira -- the second loggerhead sea turtle ever to be found in British Columbia waters -- was found in critical condition at just 8.4 degrees, which is far below what her temperature should have been at 20-25 degrees.
Moira was found floating in a kelp bed on February 4, 2024, in Peddler Bay, off the coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, near Victoria, B.C., just across the Salish Sea from Port Angeles, Washington and south of Vancouver, B.C.
Facilitated by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, led by Marine Biologist Dr. Anna Hall, Moira was rescued and transferred to the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society's Rescue Centre hospital.
The animal care team there has worked for the past seven months to gradually raise her body temperature a degree or two at a time. Her rehabilitation also included fluid therapy and antibiotics.
Moira was transferred from the Vancouver Aquarium to SeaWorld San Diego on Monday by nonprofit Turtles Fly Too so she could be released into the warm waters that are natural to her species.
Once she arrived, the SeaWorld San Diego Rescue Team gave her a vet examination and prepared her to return to the Pacific Ocean.
SeaWorld released Moira back into the ocean on Wednesday after a final evaluation to test her diving abilities.
When sea turtles are cold-stunned it means their body temperature falls so low they become unable to swim and forage for food, their heart and respiration rates slow down, and they get weaker and weaker. Cold exposure also affects their circulation, organ function, and immune system, and can directly damage a turtle's skin, shell, and eyes.
Cold-stunned turtles float to the surface and can be carried by wind and tides, which can wash them ashore. The exposure to the cold air can also cause them to drown. Learn more about cold-stunning and sea turtles here.
Sea turtles are listed as a threatened or endangered species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says if you see a sick, injured, stranded, or dead marine mammal or sea turtle, you can contact your local stranding network, which is SeaWorld San Diego for those in San Diego County.
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