The SeaWorld Orlando Animal Rescue Team returned three rehabilitated Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, the world’s most endangered species of sea turtle, to the warm Florida waters by Canaveral National Seashore.
The three Kemp’s ridley sea turtles returned were part of a group of 72 sea turtles that were rescued last November during a mass cold stranding off the Massachusetts coast. They were transferred to SeaWorld Orlando from the New England Aquarium by the U.S. Coast Guard for rehabilitation and expert care.
Only nine of the original 72 rescued turtles remain at SeaWorld Orlando after completing rehabilitation under the care of SeaWorld Orlando’s aquarium team and veterinarians. The SeaWorld Team is still caring for the remainder of the turtles as they regain their strength with the goal of returning them in the coming weeks.
Ranging from two to three kilograms at the time of rescue, the turtles have been thriving during their rehabilitation, gaining strength and weight. The three Kemp’s ridley sea turtles returned today all weighed roughly four kilograms each.
Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are the most endangered species of sea turtle in the world, mainly due to egg collection and other human activities. Today, under strict protection and the help of organisations like SeaWorld’s Animal Rescue Team, the population is on its way to recovery.
So far in 2015, SeaWorld Orlando has rescued 39 sea turtles and returned 63 to the ocean. For more than 50 years, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment has helped animals in need – ill, injured, orphaned or abandoned, with the goal of returning them to the wild. More than 25,000 animals have been rescued by the expert animal rescue team that is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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