4,000 Frozen Sea Turtles Rescued from Texas Shoreline

Conservation group Sea Turtle, Inc. said it has already rescued approximately 4,000 “cold-stunned” turtles from Texas beaches on Wednesday morning.

Sea Turtle, Inc. has already reached capacity at their South Padre Island facility by the time they spoke to CBS News on Wednesday. But many more of the shelled reptiles still need help. As the overflow are sent to the city’s convention center, Executive Director Wendy Knight told CBS News that SpaceX provided them with a generator to restore power for their ongoing work during the aftermath of Winter Storm Uri.

“We have been working off of generators to charge our phones and spotlights at night,” Knight said. “The convention center has been keeping the sea turtles from the cold elements and has been allowing them to come out of this cold-stunned shock.”

“We do not yet know if this was in time to save our patients in the hospital but this is a huge step forward,” Knight said of the gift. “This is what putting passion into action means and the service they provided us this morning will save countless turtles and will be something we are truly grateful for.”

“This is the biggest sea turtle cold-stunned event in south Texas and we are overly grateful for the support. All your donations are helping us pull through,” Sea Turtle Inc. said via Facebook on Tuesday. “All of the residents Gerry, Fred, Allison, Hang Ten, and Merry Christmas are out of their tanks but doing well. A great effort by everyone. A million thanks and a lot more turtle hugs!!”