PORTLAND — An endangered sea turtle is recovering at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport Monday morning after it was rescued from a Washington beach on Thanksgiving.
Chad and Mickey Heidt, both Beaverton residents, were camping at Cape Disappointment State Park just across the Columbia from Astoria, Ore., when they discovered the stranded olive ridley sea turtle during a walk on Benson Beach around 4:30 p.m.
“I knew there was a major sensitivity to time, so we hurried to contact someone who could help,” Chad Heidt said in a statement provided by the aquarium.
The couple reached out to the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, run out of Oregon State University, and arranged to transport the female turtle to Seaside with the help of a park ranger.
Laura Todd, a supervisor with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, picked up the sickly turtle and brought her to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, one of only two facilities in the Pacific Northwest authorized by the federal government to provide rehab for wayward sea turtles.
After arriving at the aquarium around 12:30 a.m. on Friday morning, vet staff gave her a quick evaluation, administered fluids and performed a blood draw. The initial results showed the animal was suffering from a number of problems. She was “extremely emaciated” and had likely been floating for a long time, officials said.
Her temperature, which should have been around 75 degrees, was 59.
Sea turtles prefer warm water, but shifting currents and storms, common in the winter months, can push them north, out of their comfort zones and into the cold waters off the Oregon coast. As their internal temperature drops, they lose the ability to swim and eat.
Some wayward turtles develop buoyancy problems, wherein they lose the ability to dive, which leaves them susceptible to strong winds. A floating turtle can easily be blown ashore.
Two of the most common turtles that wind up in trouble along the Oregon coast, Pacific green sea turtles and olive ridley sea turtles, are protected by the Endangered Species Act.
“Today we are especially thankful for the dedication from all parties involved given the short notice on a holiday,” Jim Burke, Director of Animal Husbandry at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, said in a statement. “Although we are always uncertain of the outcome when we receive extremely sick animals, we are hopeful for this turtle’s successful rehabilitation.”
The aquarium has had recent success in its rehab efforts.
Solstice and Lightning — both olive ridley turtles rescued off the northwest coast in 2014 and 2015, respectively — faced long odds of survival.
“Solstice was pretty sick,” Todd told The Oregonian/OregonLive. “She had buoyancy problems and we almost didn’t consider her releasable. Lightning was pretty beaten up. Her pelvic girdle, pectoral girdle, the base of her skull and one of her fins were broken.”
After a lengthy rehab, both Solstice and Lightning, along with another turtle, were recently released off the coast of San Diego, into waters much more conducive to their survival.
Burke warned that, as winter sets in, more turtles are likely to end up in need of help along the coast.
“Sea turtles do not reach Oregon beaches unless injured or sick, and once stranded, they require immediate specialized care to survive.”
If you find a sea turtle on the beach, immediately note its location, remain nearby to observe it, and contact the Oregon State Police Tipline at 800-452-7888 or the Marine Mammal Stranding Network at 1-866-767-6114.
