Military Personnel Save 1,100 Stunned Sea Turtles from Frigid Texas Waters
A volunteer helps save sea turtles at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi (left), and Navy Capt. Christopher Jason rescues more turtles from his kayak (right). (Photos courtesy of Navy Capt. Christopher Jason)
19 Feb 2021
Service members have been helping their neighbors through a crisis in Texas this week and that included hundreds of reptiles who were left helplessly bobbing in cold water after unusually freezing weather crippled the state.
Navy Capt. Christopher Jason, the commanding officer of Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, was assessing problems on base caused by a rare winter storm when he and Command Master Chief Eric Kinnaman were told that wildlife on the waterfront was struggling. An Army veteran had saved a couple of birds when he noticed a few sea turtles floating listlessly in the waves.
Coast Guard helps rescue cold-stunned sea turtles off Texas coast
U.S. Coast Guard
Two Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi rescue swimmers rescue 60 sea turtles near South Padre Island, Texas, Feb. 17, 2021. Over 300 cold-stunned sea turtles were rescued by various volunteers and were documented, checked for identifying tags, and quickly transported to local rehabilitation centers.
and last updated 2021-02-18 13:32:54-05
On Wednesday, the Coast Guard helped rescue 60 sea turtles in need of life-saving assistance near South Padre Island, Texas following the winter storm.
The sea turtles, according to rescuers, had been stunned as a result of the recent cold weather