Tuesday, January 08, 2013

'E's Stunned!

But, unlike the parrot in the famous Monty Python "Dead Parrot" sketch, these sea turtles are, in fact, stunned from sea water suddenly cold from sharp drops in the weather:

The recent cold spell has kept area aquariums and the sea turtle hospital on Topsail Island busy helping cold-stunned sea turtles from North Carolina and other locations along the East Coast.

Ten live, cold-stunned juvenile green turtles were found Saturday on the beach south of the Cape Lookout Lighthouse.

According to information from Cape Lookout National Seashore, park volunteers Dallas and Marjorie Spruill rescued the stranded turtles and contacted park officials. Rangers Wade Keeler and Kerby Price responded and carried the turtles back to the park offices on Harkers Island.

Matthew Godfrey, state sea turtle biologist and representative of the N.C. Sea Stranding and Salvage Network, picked up the turtles. The turtles were given an initial assessment by a veterinarian and then transferred to the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center on Topsail Island.


The turtles are also being cared for at a couple of NC state aquariums, at Fort Fisher and Pine Knoll Shores.

And yes, here's the Dead Parrot sketch mentioned above:

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