WELLFLEET – Since mid-November, more than 200 cold-stunned sea turtles have washed up on Cape Cod Bay beaches from Dennis to Provincetown.
Volunteers and staff of Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary have recovered the stranded animals.
Due to strong southwest and west winds, Truro has had the most rescues. The sanctuary walks the beaches twice a day and transports the turtles to the New England Aquarium’s Animal Care Facility in Quincy.
The Cape’s hook-shaped geography traps the animals in the cooling bay waters. When their body temperatures fall, their systems start to shut down.
The critically endangered Kemp’s Ridley turtle accounts for the majority of strandings. In 2014, the record was set at 1200, with nearly 500 last year.
Although the cause is unclear, experts believe one of the reasons is the warming waters in the Gulf of Maine.
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