ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — The Sea Turtle Hospital at UF Whitney Lab in south Saint Augustine treated almost 120 turtles in January alone. Normally, they treat only about 100 turtles during the entire year.
This influx was caused by the extreme cold and winter storm earlier in January.
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Action News Jax Shanila Kabir spoke to doctors at the Sea Turtle Hospital who said they need beachgoers to continue looking out for turtles washed along the shore because that means they need medical care.
READ: UF Sea Turtle Hospital needs donations after helping over 100 cold-stunned sea turtles
Hospital Manager Devon Ramia said with this recent cold stunning event, the doctors went into “emergency mode” while still taking care of their current patients.
“Florida is a hotspot for our sea turtles. It’s our biggest nesting state,” said Ramia.
She adds doctors at the Hospital at UF Whitney Lab said that they have burned through a lot of their medical supplies while treating 30 plus sea turtles in a few days. Typically, they usually average just a few per week.
This is because they said the water temperature was in the 40s this past week.
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“Unfortunately, what happens is the sea turtles go into a hypothermic state. They basically float at the surface and with those strong currents, they’ll push them all in,” said Ramia.
So far, all the sea turtles have survived after being treated and released.
Although the weather is now warmer, we are still in the middle of winter; the sea turtle hospital managers ask if you find a sea turtle washed up on the beach that you report it.
“Sea turtles can look dead although they’re not. They’re very still, and they don’t thrash around when they’ve washed ashore. They’re weightless in water so when they’re onshore, it’s not their first choice,” Program Manager Catherine Eastman said.
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Managers said treating more than 100 turtles during a three-day time span was only made possible by the help of 30 volunteers on top of their medical personnel.
They ask people to continue donating to the hospital, whether it be financial donations or supplies like towels and Dawn soap.
Click here to access the hospital’s Amazon Wishlist.
Donations can be dropped off at the hospital located at 9505 North Oceanshore Boulevard.
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You can drop off donations in person between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekends.
Click here to learn how you can help by sponsoring a turtle.
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