Hundreds of Sea Turtles Are Stranded on Cape Cod Each Year. A Huge Team Has Stepped Up to Help.

Every fall, hundreds of sea turtles get trapped on the cold beaches of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. The turtles spend the summer feeding in warm nearby waters, but when the ocean cools in November and December, many get stuck. Volunteers, scientists, and veterinarians have built a massive rescue effort to save these endangered animals every single year.

One turtle, known as #471, has been nicknamed 'Lucky' by the team at the New England Aquarium's Sea Turtle Hospital. Lucky is an 18-inch Kemp's ridley turtle — a greenish-gray endangered species. The young turtle was found cold and barely moving on the beach on December 1 and spent months recovering at the hospital, including surgery on an infected joint in its left flipper.

Dr. Kathy Tuxbury is the aquarium's senior veterinarian. She checked Lucky's surgical scar and said the turtle was 'in good shape.' Before Lucky can be released, the turtle must go 30 days without needing antibiotics and pass a final health check. Lucky was cleared for release on August 11 and is set to return to the ocean on August 18 with a tracking device attached.

The number of turtles washing up on Cape Cod's beaches has grown a lot over the years. In the early 2000s, about 50 turtles were found stranded each year — now that number is close to 500. Scientists say that global warming is at least partly to blame, because warmer ocean water is drawing more turtles farther north and keeping them there longer.

Researcher Kara Dodge has spent 20 years studying sea turtles in New England. She explains that the turtles behave like 'snowbirds,' coming to Cape Cod in the summer to enjoy warm water. The problem is that Cape Cod curves out 65 miles into the ocean like a hook, trapping turtles that try to swim south as the water cools.

In the winter months, volunteers from the Massachusetts Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary walk the beaches day and night looking for stranded turtles. The turtles can be so cold that they look dead, even though many are still alive. Some volunteers go out at one in the morning in freezing wind with flashlights, searching the most remote stretches of beach.

When a turtle is found, it is placed in a banana box and transported carefully to the hospital. Volunteer drivers carry up to 30 turtles a day, keeping their cars cool and quiet to help the animals stay calm. Science coordinator Mark Faherty joked that drivers 'can't blast their rock music' — the cars need to feel like a clinical environment.

At the hospital, the turtles go through 'triage,' meaning staff sort patients by how serious their condition is. Every turtle gets X-rays and a full exam, and many arrive dehydrated or malnourished. Hospital director Adam Kennedy compares the facility to 'the emergency room and the ICU kind of all wrapped into one.'

Because the hospital can only care for about 65 turtles at a time, recovering animals are sent to partner centers along the East Coast and as far west as Missouri. Some turtles are driven in vans, while others are flown by volunteer pilots in small private planes. This year, 18 turtles were driven south to North Carolina for spring releases.

Survival rates for turtles brought in alive are remarkably high — about 85%. A few turtles are fitted with satellite tags so researchers and the public can track their migration routes online. Intern Analya Stewart, 21, said she never expected to spend her summer tossing squid at sea turtles, but added, 'It has been a great experience.'