Today I got to attend my first ever sea turtle release! 40 cold stunned turtles were rescued last week in our area and were treated by various organizations, including the Houston Zoo. Today a group of volunteers brought them to the beach wrapped in wet towels and secured in big plastic bins, carried them one by one to the water and released them. They let us look at them, too, and take some pictures, but they didn’t let us pet them – though this was a repeated request from the many children in attendance. One of the workers from the zoo told me the turtles would probably bite the kids. I don’t doubt it, as the turtles looked royally pissed, and overall seemed very anxious to get into the water, swim away, and have nothing to do with any of us ever again. I definitely wish them to never need anything from us humans for the rest of their long and beautiful turtle lives.
Of course, next week there’s bound to be a new batch of cold stunned turtles needing help. Hopefully, by then, the ones released today would have swam into warmer waters. With them gone, the hospitals are now empty and ready to receive and treat the next batch.
I was very impressed with the attendance at this event. Clearly people in our community care for our sea turtles. I was also so impressed with the volunteers and staff. I’m glad sea turtles are receiving the help and attention they deserve.
