Sea turtles, not turkeys, highlight Cape Cod Thanksgiving weekend

November 30, 10:17 AMCape Cod Travel ExaminerDawn M Smith

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Cold-stunned sea turtle is examined by Bob Prescott, Mass Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Sanctuary Director /DM Smith photo

Visitors to Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary on Sunday November 29, 2009 got to see cold-stunned Kemp’s ridley and green sea turtles, right in the foyer of the Nature Center.

Cape Cod Bay’s cold-stunned sea turtles rescued by Mass Audubon
Each fall, Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary staff and volunteers walk local beaches looking for stranded sea turtles. This year Thanksgiving weekend was busy, as air and sea temperatures dropped suddenly.

So busy Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary had to move their cold stranded sea turtle intake process to the front of the building. There wasn’t enough room to work in the laboratory, where these exams usually take place.

Bob Prescott, Wellfleet Bay Sanctuary Director quietly answered the public’s questions as he and Dennis Murley, Sanctuary Naturalist weighed, measured and examined the sea turtles. As he talked, another call came in.

A sea turtle had been found by a private citizen in a part of Wellfleet Harbor not routinely patrolled by Mass Audubon. That call likely saved the cold-stunned animal’s life as staff was immediately dispatched to rescue it.

What you should  do if you find a stranded sea turtle:

1. Move the turtle above the high tide line, DO NOT PUT IT BACK INTO THE WATER or REMOVE IT FROM THE BEACH

2. Cover it with seaweed or eelgrass so it is no longer exposed to cold wind

3. Mark the spot with a piece of beach debris (lobster buoy or driftwood)

4. Call Mass Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary Sea Turtle Hot Line at 508-349-2615 ext. 104 and leave exact location as well as distinguishable landmarks; a rescue crew will be promptly dispatched to the location.

Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary 291 State Hwy Rte 6 South Wellfleet
Phone: 508-349-2615 Email: wellfleet@massaudubon.org

Read this Mass Audubon article to learn more about why cold-stunned sea turtles end up in Cape Cod Bay.