Endangered sea turtle returned to warm Gulf waters after incredible 5,000-mile journey from Europe
According to the Houston Zoo, a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, the smallest and most endangered sea turtle species in the world, became trapped in an ocean current last year, drifted away from the warm water, and wound up in the dangerously cold waters of the North Sea.
Watch: Endangered sea turtle returned to Gulf after incredible 5,000-mile journey across Atlantic
A video provided by the Houston Zoo shows staff members caring for an endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle and then releasing it back into the Gulf of Mexico after an incredible, 5,000-mile journey that started in Europe.
GALVESTON, Texas – An endangered sea turtle has finally been returned to the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico off the Texas coast after its incredible 5,000-mile story of survival that began in Europe one year ago.
According to the Houston Zoo, a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, the smallest and most endangered sea turtle species in the world, became trapped in an ocean current last year, drifted away from the warm water, and wound up in the dangerously cold waters of the North Sea.
This photo shows Boeier, a cold-stunned sea turtle, after being brought to the Houston Zoo.
(Kevin Kendrick/Houston Zoo via Storyful / FOX Weather)
And the turtle’s incredible story of resilience and survival almost didn’t happen.
The Houston Zoo said Boeier, affectionately named after the boat that came to her rescue, became entangled in the net of a commercial fishing vessel off the southwestern coast of the Netherlands.
Thankfully, the crew was able to save her from the net, and she was taken to Rotterdam Zoo where the cold-stunned sea turtle could be nursed back to health. Sea turtles become cold-stunned when the water they're swimming in drops to dangerously low temperatures.
COLD-STUNNED SEA TURTLE RELEASED INTO GULF OF MEXICO AFTER YEAR OF REHABILITATION
This photo shows Boeier, a cold-stunned sea turtle, receiving a medical evaluation.
(Kevin Kendrick/Houston Zoo via Storyful / FOX Weather)
That then leads them to become weak and lethargic, which eventually makes the turtles unable to swim and float on the water's surface. And if the turtles don't receive help, they could die.
This is especially true in New England. Like many humans, turtles love to travel and spend their summer and fall in Massachusetts. However, due to Cape Cod's shape, many turtles become trapped and cannot escape Cape Cod Bay to warmer waters farther south.
Luckily, that's not how Boeier's story ends.
NEARLY 400-POUND GREEN SEA TURTLE RESCUED FROM FLORIDA'S SPACE COAST
This photo shows Boeier, a cold-stunned sea turtle, about to be released back into the Gulf of Mexico.
(Kevin Kendrick/Houston Zoo via Storyful / FOX Weather)
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service eventually obtained the necessary documentation and permits to get Boeier on a commercial flight from Amsterdam to Houston, which is where her story of survival continued.
Boeier arrived in the U.S. on Oct. 29 and received a checkup from Houston Zoo veterinarians so she could leave the airport. After arriving at the zoo, the juvenile sea turtle was placed in a deep water tank and then received a detailed medical exam to ensure she was healthy.
After researchers from Texas A&M University at Galveston's Gulf Center for Tea Turtle Research attached a tracking device to her shell to track her movements, Boeier was taken to Stewart Beach in Galveston, where her intense journey home finally came to an end on Nov. 4.
WORLD’S RAREST SEA TURTLE LAYS EGGS IN UNUSUAL PLACE ON TEXAS BEACH
This photo shows Boeier, a cold-stunned sea turtle, about to be released back into the Gulf of Mexico.
(Kevin Kendrick/Houston Zoo via Storyful / FOX Weather)
"We are so happy that Boeier was rescued, rehabilitated and deemed healthy enough to release so that she can rejoin the reproductive population and potentially contribute to the recovery of the species," Mary Kay Skoruppa, the U.S. Forest Service’s Sea Turtle Coordinator for Texas, said in a statement. "An added benefit is the opportunity to increase the Service’s and NOAA Fisheries’ knowledge about survival and movements of juvenile Kemp’s ridley sea turtles that strand in areas far outside of their normal migration routes."
Anyone who encounters a sick, injured, stranded or deceased sea turtle should immediately report it to a local stranding network.