More than a dozen sea turtles were released back into the wild in Louisiana, Gulf of Mexico in the United States after spending months of rehabilitation at the Audubon Nature Institute. The Coastal Wildlife Network (CWN) team has looked after these rescued turtles and have helped them recover.
Around 28 Kemp’s ridley sea turtles were rescued and taken to the Audubon Nature Institute. The turtles were rescued from a “massive cold stunning event” near the New England Coast. All of the turtles have been closely monitored by CWN. They were currently examined by veterinarians to check if they have recovered and if they are ready to be released back into the wild.
13 out of 28 sea turtles were considered ready to be released back into the wild. Recently, these turtles were released back into the Gulf of Mexico along the Grand Isle Shoreline. The CWN team made sure that the sea water’s temperature was at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit before releasing the turtles back into the sea.
While speaking to a local news agency, one of the CWN members stated that they have named the turtles after Mardi Gras Krewes, they are the marching groups that put on the parade during the carnival season. The 13 turtles released back into the wild were named, Tucks, Rex, Zulu, Thoth, Endymion, Chaos, Themis, Muff-a-lotta, Stomper, Athena, Carrollton, Pandora, and Proteus.
There are 15 other turtles that are still under recovery at the Audubon Nature Institute. The other 15 turtles are named Bacchus, Orpheus, Muses, Chewbacchus, Okeanos, Atlas, Argus, Nymph, Vieux, Pete Fountain, Siren, St. Aug, Iris, Babylon, and Fleurs.
According to the World Wildlife Funds (WWF), there are seven species of sea turtles and all of those seven sea turtle species are listed as endangered species. Out of those seven turtle species, three species are listed as critically endangered species.
The main threats to sea turtles in the wild are climate change, habitat destruction and accidental capture.
