By
Sarah N. Mattero, Boston Globe Correspondent, 11/27/12
Forty
hypothermic sea turtles found on Cape Cod are being taken to the New England
Aquarium’s care center in Quincy to be warmed up, the aquarium said today.
The
endangered reptiles, mostly large loggerheads and green sea turtles, have been
pouring in over the past three days, aquarium spokesman Tony LaCasse said in a
statement.
Sea
turtles often become stranded from early November through December, so
volunteers from the Massachusetts Audubon Sanctuary at Wellfleet Bay stake out
the coasts each year in order to save them.
Despite
the fact that sea turtles are cold-blooded, they are susceptible to infections
at such low body temperatures. The aquarium takes the reptiles and warms them
up 5 degrees a day until their body temperature reaches slightly more than 70
degrees.
Almost
90 sea turtles have been rescued so far this season, including the recent
batch, the aquarium said.
Loggerhead
turtles are both an endangered and threatened species and typically weigh up to
250 pounds and grow up to 3 feet long, according to the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration. Green sea turtles are also an endangered and
threatened species and can grow to about 3 feet long and weigh more than 300
pounds.
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