CAPE COD — The New England Aquarium prepared a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle named Lucky for release after a year-long rehabilitation that included surgery for an infected joint. Lucky was one of 473 cold-stunned turtles found on Cape Cod beaches in November and December of the previous year.

Lucky was scheduled for pre-release evaluation before being released back to the sea in late August or early September. By 5 August, Lucky and five other turtles remained in the hospital.

Hundreds of sea turtles are stranded on Cape Cod beaches each year. The annual number of stranded sea turtles on Cape Cod has increased tenfold since the early 2000s. The number of young sea turtles washing up on Cape Cod beaches increased from approximately 50 per year in the early 2000s to close to 500 per year.

Scientists attribute the increase in stranded sea turtles at least in part to global heating. The Gulf of Maine is one of the most rapidly warming water bodies in the world. Cold-shocked turtles can survive a long time in cold water but can die quickly if stuck on a beach in freezing air.

Volunteers from the Massachusetts Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary patrol Cape Cod beaches in winter months to search for cold-shocked turtles. Mark Faherty is the science coordinator for Massachusetts Audubon. Massachusetts Audubon monitors winds and high tides and sends volunteers to search for turtles with flashlights, sometimes in the middle of the night. Some volunteers patrolling the beaches are in their eighties.

Specially trained staff and volunteers transport stranded turtles to the New England Aquarium in banana boxes, sometimes bringing up to 30 a day. Volunteer drivers transport turtles to the aquarium while keeping their cars cool to maintain a clinical environment. New England Aquarium staff conduct triage on stranded sea turtles, which includes slowly warming them and reintroducing them to sea water over days.

Adam Kennedy is the director of the New England Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital. Stranded turtles receive radiographs and exams, and some receive injected fluids and antibiotics. Many stranded turtles arrive suffering from dehydration, malnourishment, pneumonia, or infections. Infected joints are a common problem for stranded sea turtles.

Kathy Tuxbury is the senior veterinarian at the New England Aquarium. The New England Aquarium Sea Turtle Hospital can handle long-term care for about 65 turtles. The survival rate for sea turtles brought into the hospital alive is approximately 85%.

The New England Aquarium works with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to dispatch recovering turtles to partnering rehabilitation centers along the east coast and Gulf of Mexico. Recovering turtles are transported to rehabilitation sites as far west as Missouri via vans and private planes flown by volunteer pilots. Turtles sent to southern rehabilitation locations can be released as early as midwinter.

Aquarium staff drove 18 turtles south from New England for spring releases in North Carolina this year. Four batches of turtles were released from beaches on the south side of Cape Cod this summer. Some rescued turtles are fitted with satellite tags to study their migration habits. The aquarium’s Sea Turtle Tracker shows turtles moving from nesting regions along the shores of Mexico to waters as far north as Canada.

Kara Dodge is a research scientist at the New England Aquarium who has studied New England sea turtles for 20 years. Analya Stewart is a 21-year-old intern at the New England Aquarium. The north side of the Cape Cod Peninsula extends 65 miles into the ocean.

Why It Matters

The scale of cold-events has grown, with stranding numbers rising from approximately 50 per year in the early 2000s to close to 500 per year. This tenfold increase coincides with the Gulf of Maine becoming one of the most rapidly warming water bodies in the world, a trend scientists link to global heating.

Rehabilitation efforts involve a network of volunteers, veterinarians, and federal agencies. The New England Aquarium collaborates with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to manage patient load and coordinate releases across the east coast and Gulf of Mexico. The survival rate for turtles admitted alive is approximately 85%, reflecting the importance of rapid rescue and specialized medical care.

Timeline

On 2014-07-10, the Commerce Department published a rule titled Endangered and Threatened Species: Critical Habitat for the Northwest Atlantic Ocean Loggerhead Sea Turtle Distinct Population Segment (DPS) and Determination Regarding Critical Habitat for the North Pacific Ocean Loggerhead DPS. On 2023-07-19, the Commerce Department published a proposed rule titled Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: Proposed Rule To Designate Marine Critical Habitat for Six Distinct Population Segments of Green Sea Turtles.

On 2024-12-01, sea turtle #471, renamed "Lucky, arrived at the New England Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital in a state of extreme hypothermia. By 2025-08-05, Lucky and five other turtles remained in the hospital."

What's New

A study titled Osteomyelitis in cold-stunned Kemp's ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) hospitalized for rehabilitation: 25 cases (2008–2018) was published in 2021 in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. A study titled Single‐dose pharmacokinetics of ceftazidime and fluconazole during concurrent clinical use in cold‐stunned Kemp’s ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempii)" was published in 2011 in Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics."

In December 2020, a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle named Typhoon stranded off of Orleans, MA, and received care for 10 months at the New England Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy, MA, where it was treated for pneumonia and anemia, and had a heart rate of just eight beats per minute. The Endangered Species Act Amendments of 1993 was sponsored by Rep. Studds, Gerry E. [D-MA-10], with the latest action being an Executive Comment Requested from Interior.

Massachusetts S 3064 (An Act to build resilience for Massachusetts communities) was sponsored by Maura T. Healey, with the latest action being a Committee of conference appointed - (Finn-Barber-Sweezey), in concurrence. The Commerce Department published a proposed rule titled Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: Proposed Rule To Designate Marine Critical Habitat for Six Distinct Population Segments of Green Sea Turtles on 2023-07-19. The Commerce Department published a rule titled Endangered and Threatened Species: Critical Habitat for the Northwest Atlantic Ocean Loggerhead Sea Turtle Distinct Population Segment (DPS) and Determination Regarding Critical Habitat for the North Pacific Ocean Loggerhead DPS on 2014-07-10.

How Sources Differ

Regarding the turtle at the New England Aquarium hospital, the primary source states that sea turtle #471, renamed "Lucky," arrived at the New England Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital on 1 December in a state of extreme hypothermia. The desk_web source notes that in December 2020, a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle named Typhoon stranded off of Orleans, MA, and received care for 10 months at the New England Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy, MA, where it was treated for pneumonia and anemia, and had a heart rate of just eight beats per minute.

Regarding studies on cold-stunned Kemp's ridley turtles, the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association published a study titled Osteomyelitis in cold-stunned Kemp's ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) hospitalized for rehabilitation: 25 cases (2008–2018) in 2021. The Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics published a study titled Single‐dose pharmacokinetics of ceftazidime and fluconazole during concurrent clinical use in cold‐stunned Kemp’s ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) in 2011.

Regarding leadership at the New England Aquarium turtle hospital, the primary source identifies Adam Kennedy as the director. The desk_web source focuses on the case of Typhoon at the hospital in Quincy, MA.