Cold Stunning Turtle Update 2/26/2015

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via Dr. Donna Shaver Yesterday (25 February 2015), two live cold stunned green turtles were located in Texas, both in the Upper Laguna Madre. So far during the 2014-2015 cold stunning season (which began on 13 November 2014), the following cold stunned sea turtles have been found in Texas: Area Total Galveston Area/ Inshore 63 Lavaca/San Antonio Bay 35 Port O’Connor 1 Copano Bay 7 San Jose Island 2 Mustang Island/Aransas Pass 52 Upper Laguna Madre/Corpus Christi Bay 430 Padre Island National Seashore Gulf Beach 3 Lower Laguna Madre 115 TOTAL 708 Condition Total Alive 524 Dead 184 TOTAL 708 All were green turtles except for two loggerheads, one Kemp’s ridley, and one hawksbill turtle. Thank you to staff and volunteers from the National Park Service, ARK, Sea Turtle, Inc., Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Sea World San Antonio, NOAA-Fisheries, Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas Sea Life Center, Texas General Land Office, Texas Master Naturalists, University of Texas, Gladys Porter Zoo, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Texas State Aquarium, other organizations, and private citizens for their help to find, document, rehabilitate, and release cold stunned turtles on the Texas coast this year. Data presented here are preliminary. Do not cite or quote without permission. Contact Donna Shaver, Texas Coordinator of the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network, for further information.


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