The ailing turtle hadn't eaten on his own in at least two weeks, but on Friday he munched on squid -- a breakthrough in a larger effort to save him and 15 others flown down from the frigid northeast to New Orleans.
"This is the first time he's eaten since we've been here," said Logan McAllister, a veterinarian at Audubon Aquarium Rescue. "This is a celebration."
A group of endangered sea turtles are on the mend at the marine life rehabilitation center in New Orleans after suffering in the New England winter. Over the next few months, marine life specialists will provide the turtles with lifesaving medical care before releasing them back into Gulf of Mexico waters.
The 16 Kemp's ridley turtles arrived at Louisiana's only marine wildlife rehab center on December 10 after washing ashore on the beaches of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Volunteers found the stranded turtles in a state of lethargy known as a "cold-stunning," with frostbite, pneumonia and heartrates as low as five beats per minute.
One of the most endangered sea turtle species in the world, Kemp's ridleys are supposed to migrate south in the fall to warmer temperatures. But these young turtles missed their cue to head down, and rapid temperature drops severely harmed them.
"By the time they hit the beach, they're pretty debilitated," Gabriella Harlamert, who oversees the turtle rehab program at Audubon Aquarium Rescue, said. "I always say they don't beach themselves to work on their tans -- there's something medically wrong with them."
What is cold-stunning?
Cold-stunnings occur within the species every year and mostly affects the young. The turtles at the Audubon facility, for instance, are between a year and a half to three years old, and they weigh around four to nine pounds. The Kemp's ridley are the smallest sea turtle species in the world, reaching 70 to 100 pounds at maturity.
So far, more than 800 cold-stunned turtles were found in New England this year. Those who survived were relocated to treatment centers around the Southeast and Gulf, where the species primarily nest. Harlamert calls the Kemp's ridleys "our backyard sea turtles," because they are typically born in Mexico, Texas and the Chandeleur Islands off Louisiana's eastern coast.
This was a big year for cold-stunned turtles, due to factors such as wind and ocean currents. But marine life specialists are starting to see bigger years more frequently, John Fallon, the director of sustainability and coastal conservation at the Audubon Nature Institute, said.
The growing population of the Kemp's ridley means there are more turtles to cold-stun, but larger temperature swings because of climate change are exacerbating the problem. In the last 15 years, Harlamert said, these numbers have tripled.
The rescue center anticipates taking turtles every year, but it can't always do it. Last year, for instance, the center didn't have the capacity because it was caring for a handful of locally stranded turtles from around Louisiana, including a 200-pound loggerhead sea turtle named Francois.
'They are so debilitated'
The turtles received initial treatment in New England -- X-rays, heartrate checks, antibiotics -- before flying down South on a private plane. Nonprofit organization Turtles Fly Too coordinated the transport, recruiting volunteer pilots who donate their aircraft, fuel and time.
After their cross-country journey, most of the turtles settled at the Audubon facility on the West Bank for long-term treatment. One of them, however, died of pneumonia last Sunday, which is not uncommon.
"By the time they hit the beach, they are so debilitated," Harlamert said. "We do everything we can."
Almost all of the 15 remaining turtles have pneumonia, said McAllister, the veterinarian, and some of them still need more intensive treatment. Three of these turtles swam inside a smaller basket within the pool. While the others took antibiotics every few days, the especially ill turtles needed daily care: eye drops and a strong antibiotic to combat heavy wheezing.
'Night and day'
On Friday morning, the turtles swam around a 14,000-gallon pool at the center as they ate breakfast: a seafood medley of shrimp, squid and herring. The specialists noted every piece of food the turtles ate and checked their eating habits from previous days.
The turtle that hadn't been eating on its own before Friday had been receiving nutrients from a feeding tube.
As the marine specialists get to know their new patients, they begin naming the turtles around a theme. This year, the theme is 'constellation' and they've already identified a Little Dipper, Big Dipper, Hercules, Pegasus, Andromeda, Draco and Phoenix.
"We learn their quirks," McAllister said. "One only likes herring, and one likes to be fed from his left side."
After the turtles heal from their various conditions, put on some extra pounds and pass a swim test, they'll be ready for release into the Gulf out of Grand Isle. Harlamert estimates that the first of the formerly cold-stunned turtles may return to the wild by early- to mid-March, when water temperatures are warm enough.
"By the time they're released, it's night and day," Harlamert said. "We really enjoy being part of these turtles' journey in life. We get to help them through a really hard time."
The Audubon Aquarium Rescue is the only group in the state that rehabilitates these animals. Harlamert urges anyone who sees a stranded -- alive or dead -- marine mammal or sea turtle to call the rescue hotline at 877-942-5342.