11 cold-stunned sea turtles returned to Atlantic after rehabilitation in Florida

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Workers from Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida have released 11 cold-stunned Kemp’s ridley sea turtles back into the Atlantic Ocean. Officials said Thursday that the turtles were released earlier this week near Cape Canaveral after two months of rehabilitation. They were part of a group of 16 turtles that arrived at the Tampa Bay area facility from the New England Aquarium in Massachusetts in December. The other five turtles are still receiving care. Hundreds of sea turtles suffer hypothermia and severe debilitation every year in the colder waters of Cape Cod Bay in Massachusetts, as the cold-blooded reptiles are unable to regulate their body temperatures.