CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The big freeze had a huge impact on sea life as it made a massive amount of cold-stunned turtles call the Texas Sealife Center a home as they recovered.
According to volunteers, recovery efforts continue at the Texas Sealife Center where volunteers say they are gearing up to release more turtles back to their natural habitat.
Since the freeze, volunteers have cleared and released about 300 sea turtles. However, there were a few more who were not ready just yet.
“Some of them were not very active in the tank, weren’t opening their eyes, some of them couldn’t tolerate the depth of the tank so those are all signs for us that they need to stay back and they need a little more time to cooperate,” said a volunteer with the Texas Sealife Center Jamie McWilliams.
McWilliams says the nonprofit is now rehabilitating 55 sea turtles, and out of those turtles, about 20 have been cleared to be released to their natural habitat in the upcoming weeks.
“Any turtle that you can get back in the wild is really exciting. When you think about those rescue efforts wouldn’t have happened, we could’ve wiped out an entire generation of sea turtles, knowing that we're not only giving these turtles a better life but helping the future of these species is something we're really proud to be apart of,” said McWilliams.
A few of the remaining turtles will need additional help such as surgery and tumor removal. McWilliams says donations are crucial in helping these turtles reach 100%.
“It is important to realize that as a critical care center our work is just beginning. Over the next couple of months we will be knocking out surgeries and we’re receiving antibiotics and the important thing for us is donations, we’re an organization that is funded solely through donations,” said McWilliams.
Volunteers also advise, if you see a washed-up sea turtle; do not touch it, but report it immediately.
You can contact the Texas Sealife Center at (361) 589-4023. Also, you can take a look at their website by clicking here.
