Featured Image Credit: Oregon Coast Aquarium Facebook
As Thanksgiving passes and the winter holidays approach, we all like to sit back and think about what we’re thankful for. This year the Oregon Coast Aquarium is thankful for an Oregon couple who helped rescue an endangered olive ridley sea turtle the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
Turkey, as the turtle is now known, was found on Benson Beach Wednesday afternoon by Chad and Michey Heidt. The couple was camping at Cape Disappointment State Park in southern Washington when they spotted the stranded turtle.
Heeding the advice of officials, the couple contacted the Marine Mammal Stranding Network to see how the turtle could be helped. They also contacted Seaside Aquarium. The couple, along with a Washington Park Ranger, were given instructions on how to transport the turtle to Seaside Aquarium. Once it was at Seaside, an official with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service transported Turkey to the Oregon Coast Aquarium to be cared for.
At the Oregon Coast Aquarium the olive ridley sea turtle was determined to be a female, weighed, had her temperature taken, and had blood drawn. The turtle’s temperature was nearly 20 degrees below the normal temperature and was also emaciated.
There is no guarantee about what Turkey’s outcome will be but the Oregon Coast Aquarium’s staff are working round the clock to help her recover.
According to the Oregon Coast Aquarium: “If you’re out walking the beach and find a stranded sea turtle this winter, note its location, remain nearby to observe it, and contact the Oregon State Police Tipline at 800-452-7888 or the Marine Mammal Stranding Network (MMSN) in Oregon, Washington, and California at 1-866-767-6114.”