Hundreds of helpless cold-stunned sea turtles rescued by Navy pilots and pickup trucks [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

By
Alex Horton
Feb. 18, 2021 at 5:27 p.m. CST


Will Bellamy spotted two injured birds along the Texas coast earlier this week, and the self-described animal lover delivered them to conservationists for care. But the conservationists had a message themselves, he said: watch out for distressed sea turtles.

The deadly winter storm that swept across Texas and parts of the South knocked out power and water for millions. It also created a catastrophe for animals statewide — including for sea turtles prone to freezing in frigid waters.

Bellamy, an Army and Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq and Haiti, spotted some turtles Tuesday with his son Jerome. But he needed help. He alerted Capt. Christopher Jason, the commander of Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in southeastern Texas, and his wife, Cheryl Jason. The commander grabbed his kayak, paddled into the cold waves and retrieved a lapful of cold-shocked turtles.



Will Bellamy with his son Jerome rescued sea turtles in Texas. (Will Bellamy)

But the next day, on Bellamy’s turtle patrol, the situation became far more urgent, he said, and one that would require a lot more hands.
“It was like an apocalypse of turtles littered on the beach,” Bellamy told The Washington Post in a phone interview Thursday.

. . .



Navy Command Master Chief Eric Kinnaman carries a turtle off the Texas coast. (Navy Capt. Christopher Jason)

. . .



Sea turtles recovering in a facility on Navy Air Base Corpus Christi. (Cheryl Jason)



More:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2021/02/18/sea-turtles-texas-navy/