Sea turtles released into ocean after months of rehab at Pittsburgh Zoo
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Six sea turtles that spent months recovering at the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium have been released back into the ocean.
The turtles were released at Little Talbot Island State Park in Florida on Tuesday. The Pittsburgh Zoo shared a video to social media showing staff returning the turtles to the ocean.
The turtles received their final exams last week and were all in great health, the Pittsburgh Zoo said. When they arrived at the zoo from the New England Aquarium in December, they needed help after they had become stranded on the coast of Cape Cod.
While many people associate sea turtles with tropical waters, the New England conservation organization Mass Audubon says every summer, hundreds of turtles make their way up to Massachusetts and the Gulf of Maine to feed in the nutrient-rich waters.
Since sea turtles are reptiles and their body temperature is mostly regulated by the water's temperature, they start to swim south in the fall, but some of them get stuck on the hooked shape of Cape Cod and others don't swim fast enough. This causes them to become "cold-stunned," Mass Audubon explains, meaning they can't eat or swim.
The Pittsburgh Zoo's sea turtle rehabilitation center in the aquarium has been rescuing and rehabilitating sea turtles every year for over a decade. The Sea Turtle Second Chance Program helps turtles that are beached or stranded in cold water by giving them veterinary care and rehabilitation before releasing them back into the wild.