Tag Archives: cold-stunned sea turtles

Cold Stunns

Cold stunned sea turtles are a common occurrence along the gulf coast.  It only takes water temperatures as low as 65 degrees for these cold-blooded creatures to become lethargic, according to Lauren Bell, a marine biologist in sea turtles and aquatic biology at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. “As of now there haven’t been any cold stunned turtles,” she said yesterday evening around sunset.  At the time, the water was hovering just above that critical 65 degree mark.   Because of air temperature in the mid 30s overnight, the water temperature at Pier 60 has fallen to 60°f as of 6:30am, 10 degrees almost overnight.  There is a strong possibility that at least a few lethargic, cold stunned turtles will need rehabilitation this morning.

Clearwater’s Cold Stunned Sea Turtles

          A Sea Turtle is an air breathing reptile who lives and thrives in the Gulf of Mexico, not to mention the waters all over the world.   The turtle is a large shelled creature who uses it’s shell as protection for its soft body.  The shell is made up of many bones covered with horny scales, also known as scoots.  They have no teeth, but very strong jaws.  There are seven species of endangered sea turtles, the green turtle, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, olive ridley, Kemp’s ridley, and flatback.  The majority of these species of sea turtle are found in the waters off Florida.  Only the olive ridley and flatback are not. Sea turtles grow very slowly, and live for decades.

Continue reading Clearwater’s Cold Stunned Sea Turtles