Humans aren’t the only ones feeling the chill as Texas struggles to recover from the subfreezing temps brought on by this year’s winter vortex.
Numerous sea turtles around the coast have succumbed to the life-threatening cold, but happily they haven’t gone unnoticed.
Help is headed their way.
Over the last few days, volunteers from Sea Turtle, Inc. on South Padre Island have been working tirelessly to save as many turtles as possible.
Since turtles are cold-blooded they’re unable to regulate their internal temperature, so they’ve been left virtually paralyzed by the frigid weather. Unable to swim or move properly, they are at serious risk of drowning.
Faced with this potential tragedy, volunteers have been scouring the shoreline and are filling their vehicles with turtles to carry them to safety.
My mom is retired, & she spends her winters volunteering at a sea turtle rescue center in south Texas. The cold snap is stunning the local turtles & they’re doing a lot of rescues. She sent me this photo today of the back of her Subaru. It’s *literally* turtles all the way down. pic.twitter.com/xaDRNjLDoQ
— Lara (@lara_hand) February 15, 2021
The South Padre Island Convention Centre and Visitors Bureau has become a temporary shelter for thousands of these rescued turtles — hosting some 3,500 so far.
And that number keeps rising by the hour.
The scene at the convention center is surreal — but every shell in sight is a life people have taken the time to rescue.
These turtles are still being saved, but maybe they will all soon be sent back to their natural habitat once the severe weather has passed. From that point on, their lives and those of many generations to come will serve as a tribute to the numerous volunteers who supported them.
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