An exceptional cold spell currently affects United States. Texas was particularly affected, with 4.3 million homes without electricity on Tuesday, February 16. But humans are not alone in this extreme cold: animals too. As a result, thousands of frozen sea turtles recently washed up on the beaches of South Padre Island, reports the HuffPost.
They were taken care of by volunteers who sheltered them. 4,700 turtles found themselves in an empty conference center, invested for the occasion. Animals were placed in different enclosures on the floor or in small ponds. According to Ed Caum, executive director of the conference center, the turtles were “Stunned by the cold”.
Texas residents, some of whom lack heat or basic amenities themselves, have been rescuing cold-stunned sea turtles by the thousands
Read more here: https://t.co/raV4UJF4LG pic.twitter.com/YsU4KRtjKi
— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 18, 2021
Hypothermia victims
In fact, the temperature of the waters off Texas dropped considerably during the cold wave, well below the sea temperatures to which turtles are accustomed. The latter were therefore victims of hypothermia, becoming too weak to move.
They ran out of space at the rescue center, so the local convention center opened its doors to turtle storage. This video was from yesterday afternoon. By the time my mom sent it to me, there were so many more that she said, “there is no empty floor space tonight.” pic.twitter.com/g6Gw7dfIOQ
— Lara (@lara_hand) February 16, 2021
Texas, used to very mild temperatures, is one of the regions hardest hit by the American cold snap. It is normally around 20 ° C. However, in some places the temperature has dropped to -18 ° C. Texas recently declared theemergency state for climatic reasons in its 254 counties.
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