Sea turtles are cold-blooded, unable to regulate their body temperature. When winter cold-fronts blow in, sea turtles in our shallow bays become stunned and unable to move. In this cold stunned state, they get hit by boats, or wash ashore. They breathe air, like we do, so they can also drown
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Volunteer boats, especially airboats are needed to search and rescue cold-stunned turtles. Volunteers are needed to provide ground transport to get the turtles to the rehab center. Most often we transport them to Tivoli where they are picked up by Keep Aransas County Beautiful volunteers and transported to the Amos Rehabilitation Keep (ARK) in Port Aransas.
Volunteers must attend Annual Sea Turtle Training

Because sea turtles are endangered and protected, anyone handling turtles must complete the training to be added to the federal permit. Padre Island National Seashore’s Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery will deliver two virtual training sessions. Thursday, October 26, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. You can watch it on your own or join us as we live-stream it at the POC Library; Or watch it from your home on Saturday, October 29, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. If you can help, email MidCoastSeaTurtleRescue@gmail.com or call Brigid Berger 713.