Miami, .- Twenty-two green sea turtles in poor health that were rescued on a Florida beach covered in lichens were transferred to a chelonian hospital in the town of Marathon, in the Keys.
The turtles, very weakened, were transferred from two medical facilities for animals from central Florida to Turtle Hospital, a center specialized in the treatment of sick chelonians, which, once cured, are returned to their marine habitat, picked up the CBSMiami channel.
Staff from the Florida Commission on Wildlife Conservation and Fisheries (FWC) transferred to Marathon young specimens of sea turtles wrapped in towels and in plastic containers.
The turtles, which were at Brevard Zoo and the Volusia County Marine Science Center, stranded last week on the beach in a kind of “lethargic state, covered in lichens,” said Bette Zirkelbach, manager of Turtle Hospital. .
Zirkelbach expressed his confidence in being able to save the sick turtles, given that this medical center in the Keys has “trained personnel and the necessary resources”.
Veterinarians at the Marathon Turtle Hospital are currently investigating why the turtles were stranded on the beach on the east central coast and the cause of their malnutrition.
“There is not a single clue that veterinarians have to know what happened to these turtles to be dragged to the beach,” said Zirkelbach, who pointed to “weather patterns, currents or winds” as possible influencing factors.
Turtle Hospital, the first veterinary hospital of sea turtles with state license, has treated and rehabilitated more than 2,000 sea turtles wounded since it opened more than 30 years ago in Marathon. (EFEUSA)
