2020 Recap: Sea Turtle Rescue

Even in a year as unusual and disruptive as 2020, we are still able to rely on seasonal cues to help us mark the passing of time: The first balmy breezes of spring; the warmth of the summer sun; the pumpkin-spice scent of fall; and winter's first chill prompting the arrival of rescued cold-stunned turtles at the National Aquarium.

An Annual Cycle of Care

Cold stunning is a phenomenon in turtles similar to pneumonia in people that occurs when ocean temperatures first dip with cooling winter weather each year in November or December. Cold-stunned turtles experience respiratory issues and may become disoriented—and unable to continue their annual migration south to the safety of warmer waters. Here on the East Coast, the National Aquarium plays a vital role in rehabilitating as many as several dozen turtles each year within a network of aquariums and volunteer programs from New England through the Carolinas.

With the turtles that will become the class of 2021 currently adapting to their individualized recovery and rehabilitation routines at the Aquarium, we're taking a look back at the 2020 class that arrived at the National Aquarium this time last year from program partners in New England and North Carolina. In total, 18 cold-stunned turtles—17 rescued from New England and one local rescue—spent months at the Aquarium. Of those 18 patients, 15 were Kemp's ridley turtles, two were loggerhead turtles and one was a green sea turtle.

Say "Cheese"!

As is tradition, naming themes are selected for incoming sea turtle patients each year. Our 2020 turtles were named for everybody's favorite dairy delight: cheeses! Cheddar, Havarti, Brie, Muenster, Feta, Gorgonzola, Roquefort and others spent their time in the National Aquarium rehabilitation pool healing from injuries and infections while our Animal Rescue team provided round-the-clock care and helped keep the turtles' natural skills for foraging and feeding sharp through special enrichment activities—which sometimes look a lot like play! Some of the turtles receive life-saving surgeries; all receive specialized attention and medication, but the goal is always the same.

"It's always our goal to release the turtles as soon as they are healthy enough to thrive on their own in the ocean so they don't become too accustomed to life with us," said Jenn Dittmar, the Aquarium's director of Animal Rescue.

To make sure that happens, our 2020 class was released in several "batches." The first three fully recovered patients were released in early February after a car ride to the warm waters of Florida.

But wait! Did somebody order extra cheese? Lest you think releasing some patients might leave our team with time on their hands, our Animal Rescue staff picked up 16 more turtles from our partners at the North Carolina's STAR Center on the way home from the Florida release: 14 more green sea turtles, one more Kemp's ridley and one more loggerhead. In all, more than 30 sea turtles spent time in the care of National Aquarium Animal Rescue during the 2019-2020 cold-stun season. From Parmesan, Romano, Burrata and Pepper Jack to Asiago, Fontina and Limburger, it got really, really cheesy around here this year.

Rescue, Rehabilitate, Release

About 15 more turtles would become strong enough for release just several weeks later on a return trip to Florida in March. Then, in June, 10 more turtles were able to return to their ocean home locally in the then-warm-enough waters off the coast of Assateague Island National Seashore. During this June release, National Aquarium Animal Rescue celebrated a major milestone—the release of our 300^th animal rescue patient since our program's inception in 1991!

This momentous release left only three remaining turtles in rehabilitation: Stilton and Mozzarella, a pair of Kemp's ridleys from our original intake of turtles from Massachusetts in December, and Halloumi, a green sea turtle that was one of the 16 turtles picked up from North Carolina on the way back from our initial Florida release trip in February. These longest-tenured 2020 patients were healthy enough for release in September and were sent off via boat with the help of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police marine unit.

Even with a busy season behind them and the next cold-stunning season just a few months away, our rehabilitation pool was never empty. With sea turtles common in the mid-Atlantic from May through October, some turtles strand for reasons that have nothing to do with water temperatures. In fact, two turtles—Pecorino, who appeared to have suffered a boat strike, and Tulum, an older turtle struggling from lethargy and buoyancy issues—were admitted for care this summer.

Bundle Up!

So, if cold-stunned sea turtles aren't the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of fall turning to winter, perhaps they should be; over the past 28 years, nearly 250 of the more-than 300 animals rescued and released by the National Aquarium have been sea turtles, and the majority of those have been critically endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtles. Stay tuned for updates on the 2021 class of turtles—this year, nicknamed for constellations. To tide you over until turtle releases begin in the new year, follow the journey of rescued sea turtles like these through our Rescue to Release video series.

And, should you or someone you know find a stranded sea turtle or marine mammal in distress on the beach, the best thing you can do is give it space and immediately contact a trained wildlife first responder. The National Aquarium's Stranding Hotline is 410-576-3880, and staff is on call 24/7 to respond to these events.