More than two dozen rare sea turtles who were cold, hungry and lost were rescued over the Thanksgiving holiday after having washed ashore on Cape Cod. The Kemp's ridley species of turtles are being treated at an animal care center south of Boston for hypothermia, dehydration, and malnourishment, aquarium spokesman Tony LaCasse said. He noted that at least half of them are suffering from pneumonia and all have bacterial infections. Thanks to strong northwest winds earlier this week, the charcoal black turtles weighing between two and eight pounds were washed onto beaches along the upper arm of the Cape, a favorite seaside vacation spot in Massachusetts. The turtles' body temperatures are normally in the low to mid 70s Fahrenheit, but these turtles had temperatures only in the low 50s. They will now spend three to nine months at the animal center where their body temperatures will be raised slowly and they will be treated with medicine before released back into the ocean.
The big question that I get from this article is why was their body temperature so low? Does it have to go with global warming and temperatures in the oceans being really cold? Even so, I read about reptiles being able to regulate their temperature and how most of them like the cold water anyway with turtles being able to stay underwater for days at a time. I am sure there is more to this article and to these turtles than we know of right now but I would definitively like to hear more about it later as they find out more and as these turtles get better.
Link to site: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6AP34W20101126
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