REPTILES
Cold Winter Temperatures Lead to Major Cold-Stunning Season by Matthew Godfrey, Sea Turtle Biologist, and Sarah Finn, Coastal Diversity Biologist and NC Sea Turtle Stranding Network Coordinator
T he North Carolina Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network, coordinated by North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) biologists, monitors sea turtle strandings along North Carolina’s coast year- round. During winter months, sea turtles can strand in mass numbers due to a condition called cold-stunning. Cold-stunning occurs when water temperatures fall below 10°C (50° F), causing sea turtles to become lethargic and unable to swim. We see some level of cold-stunning in North Carolina every winter, primarily in shallow sounds where the water temperature can drop dramatically with seasonal cold snaps. Though we can predict with some certainty when we may begin to see cold stunned turtles (based on monitoring inshore water temperatures), we can never really know how many turtles we may see in a given season. Winter 2024/2025 has produced the sec- ond-highest cold-stun season on record in North Caro- lina, with nearly 900 live sea turtles recovered since 1 December 2024. NCWRC biologists work closely with rehabilitation partners, including NC Aquariums, the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Cen- ter, and the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, to facilitate successful rehabilitation of live-stranded sea turtles. Thanks to their hard work, by the end of December, more than 600 turtles had already been released to warmer waters in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard and pri- vate charter boats. Top right:Juvenile green turtles wash in due to cold-stunning on Barden Beach, Cape Lookout National Seashore. Right: A Cape Hatteras National Seashore ranger collects live cold- stunned sea turtles on Ocracoke.
MATTHEW GODFREY/NCWRC
MATT JANSON
33 2024 Wildlife Diversity Program Annual Report
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