Photo: Jim MacKay / WBZ
MARSHFIELD, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) – The New England Aquarium shipped out 72 cold-stunned sea turtles on Friday after treating them for pneumonia.
“Seeing them take off on the plane is so rewarding,” said Sarah Perez, a rescue biologist with the New England Aquarium. “Knowing that we’re doing something and we’re making an impact is really great.”
Last month, teams rescued and cared for almost 120 turtles at the Quincy turtle hospital that were stranded on Cape Cod. Most the Kemp’s ridley turtles were treated at the aquarium for pneumonia and other related complications.
“All of these turtles have washed up on the Cape between November and December,” Perez said. “They’re all cold-stunned so they have severe pneumonia.”
The turtles were loaded into heated boxes and then onto a heated plane. The reptiles will be brought to more rehabilitation sites along the East Coast including "three, which are in Florida, and one in New York and one in New Jersey,” according to Perez.
The AP also reports some of these turtles will be brought to the Mississippi Aquarium and later released into the Gulf of Mexico. This move is to make new space for more turtles that are also in need of care and all the turtles that left on the plane are said to be in stable condition.
WBZ’s Jim MacKay (@JimMacKayOnAir) was there:
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