If you’ve ever been out in the cold for a long period of time —maybe shoveling snow or skiing — you know how good a long, hot shower or a soak in the tub feels after you’ve come inside. Marine animal caregivers are applying the same principle to sea turtles stunned by the frigid temperatures much of the country experienced in the last few weeks.
The turtles are found washed up on shore when sea temperatures drop rapidly, their core temperatures are so low that they’re essentially paralyzed. That’s when humans step in and help. The turtles are taken back to a rehab center where they’re placed in holding tanks with water that’s more their style, temperature-wise. This video shows how the turtles are being cared for.
Fish also can have trouble with rapid temperature drops. Hundreds of speckled sea trout washed ashore in an apparent weather-related fish kill in Hampton Rods, Virginia, January 5 and an estimated 2 million spot died a few years ago near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge after a severe cold snap.
