30 sea turtles are heading south for the winter.
The turtles, cold-stunned and hypothermic, were rescued from Cape Cod beaches over the past two weeks. They were re-habbing at the New England Aquarium’s Marine Animal Care Center in Quincy and today, they will be put on a plane and depart from Marshfield Municipal Airport and head to North Carolina.
More than 180 hypothermic turtles have been rescued from Cape beaches in just the past two weeks.
Over the past few years, the number of cold-stunned turtles found on Cape beaches has more than tripled, from an annual average of about 90 to more than 300.
The kemp ridley turtles departing today will finish their rehab in North Carolina before being released back into the sea.