45 Ridleys flown to Gulfport for care

GULFPORT, Miss. - Forty-five critically endangered Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles were flown into Gulfport from Cape Cod, Mass., for care Dec. 15. The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies (20 turtles) and the Gulfport Aquarium (25) have landed the rare-to-the-Gulf Coast sea turtles for life-saving care from the cold of New England. IMMS had recently released two rehabbed sea turtles south of Horn Island on Dec. 10, and now it’s all-hands on deck to care for these newly-arrived0 turtles flown in from Massachusetts from dangerously cold water while migrating south. Several students from Mississippi State University’s veterinary school made a special trip to help out. Once rehabbed, the turtles will be released in the warm waters of the Mississippi Sound over the next several weeks – and tracked by satellite. IMMS President Dr. Moby Solangi said: “We want these animals to tell us a story instead of us having to guestimate” their movements and habitats. (Source: WXXV 12/16/20) Rare sea turtles receive life-saving care at Institute for Marine Mammal Studies (wxxv25.com)