MARINELAND, Florida — A local sea turtle hospital says it's inundated with sick turtles. The University of Florida Whitney Sea Turtle Hospital in Marineland is trying to find any available place on-site to keep the turtles.
"It's like Grand Central Station," said Cat Eastman, the hospital's Program Coordinator.
She said so far this year, the hospital has cared for 48 turtles. In all of last year, the hospital cared for 90.
Eastman told First Coast News the turtles coming in right now are not cold-stunned, like the ones Texas saw recently. She says they are "really sick" though.
In the last four days, the hospital has received five to six turtles a day. The hospital cares for the ones they can and is also transferring some turtles to other facilities.
Eastman said, "Right now in Florida, on the Atlantic side, we’re undergoing some kind of stranding event."
Devon Rollinson-Ramia, the hospital's manager and veterinarian tech, said, "They were extremely debilitated and cold."
The hospital staff has been working 13 hour days to treat the turtles, Eastman said.
"We’re triaging turtles in an emergency room style," she added.
The four tanks at the site have now been sectioned off in order to get more turtles into one tank.
Staff is also using extra rooms and plastic bins to keep the turtles.
The Brevard Zoo near Cape Canaveral is now at capacity too.
Shanon Gann with the Brevard Zoo said, “We don’t’ really know what is causing the stranding even. We do see an influx this time of year, but we have no specific reason for this. We have not identified a specific cause."
The turtles are quickly treated and then sent to other facilities in Florida which have space.
Rollinson-Ramia said, "The goal is to get this are opened up for more space because they’re coming in by 6 – 8 animals a day."
Most of these sea turtles coming in that are endangered are not dead or dying.
Eastman said, "They are resilient animals… if we can intercept and apply medical attention at the critical moment."
If you see a sea turtle washed up on the beach, please call 1-888-404-FWCC. Let the operator know where it's located, its size, and the nearest beach access to the turtle. Also, it's important to note it the animal is alive or dead. Even dead turtles can still provide valuable information to researchers.