These green and loggerhead sea turtles wait out the stormy weather at the Brevard Zoo.
Close to 300 green and loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings have been rescued after they had been wash backed to shore as a result of Hurricane Leslie, which is still, as of October 11, slowly churning in the Atlantic Ocean.
Brevard Zoo
These green and loggerhead sea turtles wait out the stormy weather at the Brevard Zoo. They will soon be released back into the weed lines off Melbourne, FL.
The turtles are currently being cared for at the Brevard Zoo’s Sea Turtle Healing Center, where they will wait out the stormy weather before zoo staff transport them by boat and drop them in the weed lines off the coast of Florida.
“When sea turtles hatch, they rely on energy stores from a yolk sac to make the multi-mile swim to offshore weed lines—floating masses of Sargassum seaweed that provide shelter and food,” sea turtle program manager Shanon Gann said in a press release put out by the Brevard Zoo. “If the seaweed is disrupted by a storm or strong winds that wash them back to shore, the little turtles do not have the energy to make the long swim again.”
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Anyone who happens on wash backed hatchlings are urged to call the Sea Turtle Preservation Society at 321-676-1701 or Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at 1-888-404-3922 for instructions on how to rescue the reptiles.
