WELLFLEET – The 2017 sea turtle stranding season has come to a close and Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary says more than 400 turtles were found on bayside beaches.
Almost 90 percent of the stranded turtles were endangered Kemp’s ridleys, and more than 280 of the turtles were found alive.
More than 75 percent of the turtles were found on the Outer Cape with Truro having the highest total of 134.
70 more turtles were stranded in 2016, which was the third busiest on record.
Strandings continue to decline since the record year of more than 1,200 in 2014.