Scores of North Carolina sea turtles have died after being stunned by frigid temperatures

By The Associated Press

Officials say scores of sea turtles stunned by cold temperatures along the North Carolina coast have died. The North Carolina State University Center for Marine Sciences and Technology says it took in 109 cold-stunned sea turtles from Cape Lookout on Sunday, but only 36 survived. Cape Hatteras National Seashore says the turtles were found in recent days along the shoreline between Bodie Island and Ocracoke. Most of them were taken to the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island’s Sea Turtle Assistance and Rehabilitation center, which says about 24 succumbed to cold-stunning. Officials say the frigid temperatures leave the cold-blooded reptiles lethargic, leaving them vulnerable to being carried by wind to the shorelines.