Earth Protect Blog

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, TEXAS » Residents, some of whom lack heat or basic amenities in their own homes, have been rescuing cold stunned sea turtles and taking them to a convention center in a South Texas resort town.

“Every 15 minutes or less there’s another truck or SUV that pulls up,” Ed Caum, executive director of the South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau, said.

He said sometimes people bring one or two sea turtles, sometimes more. “We had trailers full yesterday coming in that had 80, 100, 50,” he said. He says they’ve “collected” more than 3,500 sea turtles so far. He said he hesitates to use the word rescued because “we know we’re going to lose some.”

— The Associated Press