Riverhead Foundation Kicks Off Effort to 'Save the Sea Turtles'

With the coming of fall, the next cold stunning season for sea turtles has also commenced.

That's why the Riverhead Foundation, which operates the New York State Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Rescue Program, is working to save the sea turtles, now in great danger.
According to the Foundation, the 2012-2013 Winter Season brought an unprecedented number of cold stunned sea turtles 
to the shores of the northeast, with more than 100 of the endangered sea turtles rehabilitated in facilities from Maine to  Virginia.

Last year, Riverhead Foundation’s Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Rescue Program had a total of 87 sea turtles; almost half of the strandings were due to cold stunning, while the other half were entangled or injured.

By  the end of 2012, the Riverhead Foundation had 20 sea turtles in its rehabilitation facility, including Atlantic greens, Kemp’s ridley and loggerheads.

According to the Foundation, the cost of rehabilitating one sea turtle is $15,000. The average stay for a sea turtle is 242 days, and the daily cost is approximately $62 a day, including  food, medicine and other needs.

The Foundation is kicking off a new campaign to help raise funds for the rescue and rehabilitation of sea turtles in the coming months.

For more info, click here. 

The campaign, plus the 5K Run for the Ridley event, are hoped to garner sufficient funds to meet the escalating needs.