Sea turtles found lost on Oregon Coast die
NEWPORT, Ore. - Two endangered sea turtles rescued from a ferocious Oregon surf succumbed to their predicament this week.
Found floundering in the surf near Seaside and Gearhart, the shelled duo first took refuge at the aquarium in Seaside before moving to the custody of aquarists in Newport.
These are at least the second and third turtles of normal tropical origin to land on the Oregon Coast in 2012.
The Olive Ridley turtle never recovered from cold shock and was unresponsive from the moment it arrived at the Oregon Coast Aquarium with very little to no detectable signs of life. Veterinarians pronounced the animal dead late Wednesday night.
The Green Sea Turtle was extremely dehydrated and in cold shock but was responsive. It also had numerous shell and skull wounds.
"We had a lot of hope that the Green Sea Turtle could pull through," said Jim Burke, Director of Animal Husbandry at the Aquarium. "However, as we were able to warm the animal up it became apparent the wounds were much more serious. We maintained a 24-hour watch and attempted to stabilize the animal but eventually the turtle died early Thursday morning."
The next step for staff will be performing a full necropsy in the near future on both animals to determine the cause of death.
"We will be looking for plastic in the gastrointestinal tract which may be a result of ingesting of marine debris. Other tests will look for signs of pneumonia due to extending periods of hypothermia caused by exposure to cold water and damage from the intense storm and pounding ocean," added Burke.
The Oregon Coast Aquarium’s animal care staff continues to work with the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife and NOAA to best prepare for the next animal that needs assistance. The agencies urge anyone who finds a sea turtle on the beach to contact the Oregon State Police Wildlife Hotline at 1-800-452-7888 to ensure appropriate transport and care of the animal.
"It is unfortunate these animals didn’t make it. Rehabilitation of a wild animal is a challenging process and I am pleased we could give these turtles the best chance possible for survival," said Carrie Lewis, CEO at the Oregon Coast Aquarium.
Maybe if you put them into water....... Don't think they care about a warm blanket.
The cycle of life continues.
mmm, turtle stew
This is so sad :'( I gained a special appreciation for sea turtles after seeing hundreds of them lounging near the beach while in Hawaii several years ago. I hoped that they'd be able to pull through, but I'm very sad they didn't, at least we know that efforts were made to help them in the end.
 @pdxdÂ
My wife and I were snorkeling and scuba diving with turtles this fall. They sure are graceful in the water, not so much on land.
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One, a Hawksbill turtle, that we tagged along with for a while was at least 3 feet in diameter and was a very powerful swimmer. It totally ignored us and just went on about it's business.
Sigh....that's sad. I was really hoping they would pull through. : ( Â
Crap!! We only have to look at our animals to see where we are headed. When my birds started disappearing on my hill I know there was a problem - we are too ignorant to figure it all out, but animals have...
@boned or a neighbor with a BB gun.......
Poor babies, this is so sad. RIP, turtles!
I'm so sorry they died... but as others have posted, I'm glad they were at least warm and comfortable and well cared-for; they didn't die alone. Â Â Perhaps the autopsies will develop some information that will help when another turtle is found and needs this kind of help...Â
For those few who are so critical of our interest in these turtles, if I remember right, turtles have been around for a he11 of a lot longer than humans have... and the turtles haven't done 1/1,000,000th as much damage to this planet as humans have managed to do in our relatively short time here. Â Â The turtles are every bit as important (AND newsworthy) as we humans are ~ and usually, MUCH more interesting to read about..!
Thank you for doing the stories about these turtles, KATU..! Â Â
They are only turtles. Sorry they died, but is this the most important news in the world today?
@jpk And you're the prime example why I appreciate the company of animals over most humans. Jerk.
 @jpk No it is not the most important story of the day. People like to know how they are doing and if they made it or not.Â
 @jpk it is not the most important day. Put people like to know the ending of the story.Â
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 @jpk If you aren't interested, don't read. There's plenty of news to choose from.
If you don't like the comments, then don't read them either :)
 @jpk No one forced you to read it. Kinda snarky. Why so sour?
 @jpk They're a lot more important than you are. Are hogs an endangered species? Porkers like you are a dime a dozen.
 @jpk When you consider that sea turtles are not found in the cold waters of the Northern Pacific, are phenomenal navigators, and are an early indicator species for ecological change (good or bad) then I would say yes--this is a fairly IMPORTANT news story. I especially am curious regarding more and more of these turtles washing up here. Are the poles beginning to shift, which would throw off their navigation? Are the sonar vessels littered across the pacific floor interfering with migration patterns of marine life? Many ponderous questions are raised when these species of large sea turtles wash up on our shore. So yes, I think this IS newsworthy. Also, it's a nice break from all the hatred and violence going on in the world today, that the news feels compelled to report on endlessly.
@jpk It is not "the most important news in the world today", but some of us want to know about this. Don't be a jerk.
They are majestic creatures.
It may sound crazy...but I'm sad about the sea turtles...they are such an important part of our ecosystem. One of God's wonderful, beautiful creatures.
Very sad. I'm so glad they were made as comfortable as possible and didn't die a more painful death in the cold and pounding sea. =(
 @Lips I agree.Â
I commend the Oregon Coast Aquarium staff for being so diligent in their efforts to save these poor animals. It take a large caring heart & compassion to do your best to save another life whether it be animal or human. While it is sad that they passed, at least these animals passed being treated by humans who cared about their will being. They didn't die alone. That has to mean something.
 @Kymberlie2873 Ditto...nicely said.
 @Kymberlie2873 Nicely said.
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