Massive, Barnacle-Covered Sea Turtle Washed Ashore in Texas and Is Now Fighting to Survive
A massive adult female Kemp’s ridley sea turtle washed ashore near Beach Pocket Park #3 in Galveston on March 7, triggering an urgent rescue effort along the Texas Gulf Coast.
The turtle — the world’s smallest and most critically endangered sea turtle species — was rushed to the Houston Zoo, where she remains in critical condition.
The discovery and rescue hinge on a single resource every Texas beachgoer should know about: the statewide sea turtle hotline.
Barnacles, Algae and a Vicious Cycle
The Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research (GCSTR) learned of the stranded turtle through the Texas statewide sea turtle hotline. According to KHOU11, the turtle was “lethargic and covered in barnacles, algae and sediment.”
Christopher Marshall, director of the GCSTR, explained why the turtle’s condition raised alarms in an interview with Chron, published March 11.
“Healthy sea turtles are swimming sea turtles,” Marshall said.
“Sea turtles that slow down their swimming due to health issues are quickly colonized by organisms in the water. This can turn into a positive feedback loop in that the extra weight causes the turtle to slow down further and expend further energy, which allows more epibionts to grow,” Marshall added.
Once a sea turtle begins to struggle, the barnacles and algae that latch onto its shell compound the problem. The turtle slows, more organisms attach, and the animal’s condition deteriorates.
That cycle appears to have taken hold before the Galveston turtle was spotted on the beach.
After the rescue, the sea turtle was evaluated by veterinary partners at the Houston Zoo and then transferred to a rehabilitation hospital.
Marshall told Chron that the turtle is currently in “critical condition,” but is receiving the “best care” at the Houston Zoo.
If the turtle recovers, she will be released back into the Gulf — the same waters she was pulled from along the Galveston shoreline.
What to Do If You Find a Lethargic Sea Turtle
This rescue happened because someone reported the stranded turtle through the proper channels.
If you encounter a stranded or nesting sea turtle while walking the beach in Galveston, Padre Island, or anywhere along the Texas Gulf Coast, there is one number to know:
Call the Texas statewide sea turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.
Do not attempt to push the turtle back into the water, move it, or handle it on your own. Reporting through the hotline connects trained responders — like the GCSTR team — with the animal as quickly as possible.
Quick reporting gave this Galveston turtle a fighting chance at survival.
Why Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles Are Special to Texas
The Kemp’s ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) is the official state sea turtle of Texas, designated for its critical status and connection to the region.
As the world’s smallest most critically endangered sea turtle species, they primarily nest on Padre Island in Texas and in Mexico, per the National Park Service.
Padre Island National Seashore hosts the largest number of nests in the country, making Texas one of the most important places in the world for the species’ survival.
The species is named after Richard M. Kemp, a fisherman from Key West, Florida, who first submitted the species for identification in 1906, per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The Kemp’s ridley turtle is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
These turtles have a triangular-shaped head with a slightly hooked beak, grayish-green color on top with a yellowish bottom. Each of the front flippers has one claw while the back flippers may have one or two.
27 More Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles Return to Gulf
The Galveston rescue wasn’t the only Kemp’s ridley news in recent days.
On March 11, 27 Kemp’s ridley sea turtles were safely returned to the Gulf in Mississippi after nearly four months of rehabilitation at the Audubon Institute.
Those turtles had migrated to New England before getting trapped in the Cape Cod area, where they were cold-stunned — a condition similar to hypothermia — according to WWL.
The turtles had been in captivity at the Audubon Institute since November.
“A lot of them had shell lesions, frostbite lesions from that cold. So, once those start to heal up as well. A lot of them come in with eye problems, eye ulcers from the sand and the wind,” Gabriella Harlamert of the Audubon Aquarium Rescue told WWL.
More than 100 people were in attendance to witness the turtles return to their natural habitat.
Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists.
