PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A 60-pound Olive Ridley sea turtle found stranded on the Oregon Coast on November 18 has died despite rescue efforts by the Seaside Aquarium.
The turtle, a female, was discovered Monday evening on Gearhart Beach, located north of Seaside. Aquarium staff quickly responded to the scene and transported the cold-stunned turtle to the facility for treatment.
According to the Seaside Aquarium, the turtle showed surprising signs of activity for an animal suffering from cold shock, even moving around a bit. However, the turtle’s body temperature remained dangerously low, and she passed away on Wednesday.
This tragic event highlights a common issue during the winter months when cold-stunned sea turtles wash up on the Oregon and Washington coasts. Stranded turtles often show signs of hypothermia, slowing down and becoming unresponsive to touch. Stranding reports can begin as early as mid-October and continue through March.
Sea turtles typically forage in warmer offshore waters, but shifts in weather patterns, such as prolonged south-southwesterly winds, can push warm water currents—and the turtles—farther north and closer to shore. Once the weather changes and the warm waters dissipate, the turtles become trapped in the colder waters along the Oregon and Washington coasts, leading to hypothermia.
The Seaside Aquarium explained that it can be difficult to determine whether a stranded sea turtle is alive or dead. Severe hypothermia can slow a turtle’s heartbeat to the point of near undetectability, causing it to appear lifeless even when still alive.
Unfortunately, most of the sea turtles found in Oregon and Washington do not survive their strandings. However, those that do are transferred to licensed rehabilitation centers such as the Oregon Coast Aquarium or the Seattle Aquarium. There, they can take weeks to recover before being released back into warmer waters off the coast of California.
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