Eight rehabilitated sea turtles returned to the ocean on June 25, released off Cape Cod by New England Aquarium staff.
According to a press release from the aquarium, the Kemp’s ridley sea turtles were being treated at the organization’s Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy for hypothermia-related conditions including pneumonia, dehydration, and emaciation.
The conditions arose from the animals’ inability to regulate their body temperatures in the colder months last year. During 2023, the aquarium treated 394 sea turtles rescued off the Cape in November and December.
Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are critically endangered, affected by fisheries interactions, climate change, ocean pollution, and habitat degradation.
The aquarium collaborates with organizations like the Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service and the nonprofit Turtles Fly Too to help rescue and care for turtles.
“These turtles arrive to us with a range of ailments from severe …