Recent cold weather has been blamed for stranding and stunning more than 140 sea turtles and killing some of the reptiles along the Texas Gulf coast.
The Corpus Christi Caller-Times on Tuesday reported 18 turtle deaths were confirmed in the past two weeks. Efforts continue to warm the surviving turtles and return them to the wild.
Donna Shaver, who's director of the National Park Service Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery, said all of the turtles found through the weekend were green sea turtles. Shaver, by late Monday, documented 144 cold-stunned turtles since Nov. 25.
Dozens of stunned creatures were rescued this week by staff at Padre Island National Seashore. Most of the turtles were taken to the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas.
