(NECN: Jackie Bruno, Sandwich, Mass.) - It's a trip back to the wild for dozens of sea turtles that were stranded on Cape Cod.
These turtles aren't just being put back in the water; they're taking a trip.
Thirty-five turtles are going to be whisked away to Florida by the Coast Guard this morning.
We caught up with them when they were getting packed up and ready to go.
They got stuck here on Cape Cod and now they'll continue to be nursed back to health in Florida so they can eventually be released into the wild.
These adorable sea turtles got themselves in a very dangerous situation this fall. When it was time to swim south, they got confused and got stuck in Cape Cod’s bay.
“These turtles are all young turtles… get on the north side of cape cod… their instinct tells them to start swimming south… gotta swim north 25 miles then start swimming south,” says Tony LaCasse, spokesperson for the New England Aquarium.
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The New England Aquarium’s spokesperson tells us this is something that happens every year but this year they had a lot more stranded sea turtles than usual.
“Usually we get anywhere from 25 and 100 sea turtles that will strand, so far we have had over 150 that have stranded.”
Volunteers collect the live turtles and bring them to the New England Aquarium’s rehabilitation center in Quincy. There a team of vets and biologists nurse them back to health, and even though they’re endangered, here they’re still a number.
Does Dr. Charles Innis have a favorite turtle?
“I kind of like 25 right now because he was a guy that was almost dead when he got here… turned the corner and doing well.”
Doing well and on their way to Florida to another rehabilitation center where they’ll stay until they’re ready to be released into the wild.
Those who work at the New England Aquarium say that’s their reward for their hard work and early mornings.
“It feels great, this is what we do. All of these people have chosen to do… makes us all feel good!”
All of these turtles are endangered species, some of them only have tens of thousands left of their kind, so the work being done by the New England Aquarium and the Coast Guard is really important to make sure they don't become extinct.
