Scientists are scratching their heads after a record number of turtles were found washed up along the Gulf Coast in Texas.
Between April and August alone, a total of 282 turtles have been found along the coast. That’s more than twice the average over the last ten years. That’s what the National Park Service, which is the federal agency in the US that administers national parks, wrote in a pers conference.
– The dramatic increase in strandings this year is worrying, said the agency’s turtle researcher, Donna J Shaver.
Most of the turtles have been found alive but require immediate medical attention.
– They are severely malnourished and underweight, said Mary Kay Skoruppa, a biologist at the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in a press release.
RECORD NUMBER: An abnormally large number of turtles ended up like this in Texas. Photo: Donna Shaver/NPS/National Park Service
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Researchers don’t know why the numbers have skyrocketed this year. There are still some common reasons why turtles end up stranded. Poor water quality and poorer access to food are two of these reasons, according to Dr Shaver.
The turtle species referred to here is the smooth-backed loggerhead turtle, the second largest turtle. They grow to about 70 to 100 centimeters and weigh about 135 kilograms, according to the Store norske lexicon.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified freshwater fish as vulnerable, but not immediately endangered.
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