186 dead or dying #turtles wash up during past few months, along the coast of #Texas, #USA |

From Abandoned to Adopted

A record number of sea turtles are stranded along the Texas coastline at the height of sea turtle nesting season, a marine wildlife advocacy group says.

A total of 159 stranded sea turtles were recorded in April — the highest number of strandings in one month since monitoring began in 1980, according to Turtle Island Restoration Network. Strandings have continued at a rapid pace, with 186 turtles stranded through May 21. Most of the turtles were dead when they were discovered.

Among the dead were 68 Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, the Texas state sea turtle and the world’s most endangered sea turtle, the group said.

A stranded sea turtle is one found alive on land, or in the water that is dead, injured or exhibits any indication of ill health or abnormal behavior. According to Turtle Island Restoration Network, it is often difficult to determine why a turtle become stranded. In some cases, turtles have interacted with fishing vessels and are found with gill net wrapped around their flippers.

Courtesy of nbcdfw.com

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