Island Community Rallies to Save Turtles

ACTION!

Island Community Rallies To Save TurtlesAfter Historic Freeze

Article: Dr . Kimberly Selber Photography: Sea Turtle Inc

First, the temperatures suddenly dropped into the teens – a weather event rarely experienced at South Padre Island (SPI) – then the Texas Power Grid failed, leaving a majority of SPI, and the rest of Texas, without electricity.

Then many SPI residents lost water, and gas stations ran out of fuel. It seemed things couldn’t get any worse.

But they did.

With the waters in the Gulf of Mexico turning unusually cold, the sea turtle population (primarily comprising Kemp’s Ridley, green, and loggerhead) was massively affected. Turtles rely on ambient temperatures to regulate their body temperatures. With temperatures dropping well below normal, the reptiles went through what Wendy Knight, chief executive officer of Sea Turtle Inc., called a “cold-stunning,” leaving them paralyzed, unable to move their flippers. or raise their heads for air.

“They know they should be flapping their fins and raising their heads to breathe. All of those instincts are happening, but their body isn’t fulfilling its instincts,” continued Knight.

Failure to warm-up can result in pneumonia or death.

Many washed ashore, unable to swim or help themselves; this was a clear sign the turtles were in distress. “Turtles don’t usually rest on the beaches for fun,” Knight said.

Turtle Photos: SPI CVB

Time was of the essence as thermometer measures continued to plummet, so the South Padre Island community moved into action. Boaters in commercial vessels and dinghies rescued hundreds of turtles floating in the Gulf and Bay. Volunteers collected thousands of beached turtles ranging from dinner-plate-size to a 400-pound, 150-year-old turtle that took 10 men to carry it to the rescue center. Approximately 500 turtles covered the floor of Sea Turtle Inc., while more than 4,500 were sent to recover at the SPI Convention Center.

The SPI Convention Center quickly became a warming center – providing shelter to more than a football field and a half of cold-stunned turtles. But, like the residents of SPI, the Convention Center had no power; here’s where the business community came to the rescue. Engineers from Boca Chica based SpaceX brought over a massive generator to provide power, and thus lights and heat for the rescued specimens. “It was the single largest generator I’ve ever seen,” Knight said.

In all, 5,300 turtles were rescued with the help of volunteers working 18-hour days. Many were simply community members willing to help. Gina McLellan, a longtime volunteer with Sea Turtle, Inc., said she looked out and saw a 400-yard line of cars transporting rescued turtles to the Convention Center. “Our neighbors, our friends, our family – they waited in line for hours to drop off the turtles they had rescued, and then went back to save more,” McLellan said.

Knight was overjoyed at the way people sprang into action in an emergency situation.

“These people who have not had power or water in their own homes in three to four days, working 15 to 18 hours a day to save turtles,” she explained. “The gas stations were out of gas, and the grocery stores were out of water, and people still showed up. That says something about the caliber of our community.”

Knight noted that the tiniest patients began to wake up first; it was so cute. They had been the first to freeze but also were the first to recover.

“It’s very sweet right now, but it might not be for long,” she said. While bodily functions cease while turtles are comatose, they come right back once the creatures have recovered. “We needed the weather to warm up, or we were about to have 4,700 turtles ... awake.”

Volunteers began the releasing operation a few days after the freeze when scientists were sure the waters were warm enough at 55-65 degrees. More than 2,200 were taken offshore to the open ocean of the Gulf of Mexico.

Without rescue, without the selfless coming together of the SPI Community, the island’s sea turtle population would have been decimated by the cold, Knight says, wiping out four decades of conservation work to protect the region’s threatened reptiles, which also face dangers from boat strikes and entanglement in fishing gear.

Today, Sea Turtle Inc. is fundraising to replace the 10 heaters used to regulate water temperature; they were destroyed in the outage. Founded in 1977, Sea Turtle, Inc. is a nonprofit education, rehabilitation, and conservation organization on South Padre Island. The center is funded through public donations and on-site gift shop sales. They receive no government funding. To support Sea Turtle, Inc., please visit its website at https://seaturtleinc.org.

ETIQUESTIONS

Dr. Barbara Baggerly-Hinojosa

When I go to the beach, I love to feed the seagulls. However, the last time I did that, the family that was next to us got mad. Is it appropriate to feed the seagulls at the beach?

Feeding the seagulls is so much fun, but be sure that by doing so you are not disturbing the people around you . If you want to feed the seagulls, make sure you go very far away from where people are enjoying the beach . Consider the fact that when you feed one seagull, shortly afterwards there will be many seagulls . Enjoy the beach and the birds, just always be considerate of the people around you .

I love to go to the beach but I don’t always think about etiquette at the beach. What is one of your top recommendations for me to consider at the beach?

In order for everyone to enjoy the beach, it is important that some etiquette is followed . The most common mistake people make at the beach is when they pick up their towels and shake the sand out . For the people downwind, they get showered with sand . Be considerate and take your towel far away so that you can shake the sand out without showering everyone around you .

We enjoy staying at different hotels at the beach. I have always wondered what the rules are for walking around the lobby in our swimsuits? Is it ok or do we need to get dressed when we go inside the lobby?

It is recommended that anytime you go inside the lobby of hotel, you are dressed . If you are entering from the beach and have on your swimsuit, grab a coverup and make sure you put some shoes on . You will also want to make sure you have dried off and are not dripping wet while you walk around inside .

Barbara Baggerly-Hinojosa, Ph.D. is a wife, mother, and educator living in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. She is a graduate of Our Lady of the Lake University with a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies. In addition, she holds an Associate of Arts degree in Education from McLennan Community College, Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Texas – Pan American, and a Master of Arts in Educational Supervision from the University of Texas – Pan American. Dr. Baggerly-Hinojosa’s current research is focused on servant leadership, gender issues in leadership, and leadership communication. www.leadershipempowermentgroup.com