Animals

800 turtles hiding from the cold rescued from storm drain


Volunteers have rescued 826 diamondback terrapin hatchlings (Picture: Stockton University)

More than 800 turtles who were hiding from cold temperatures were recently rescued from subterranean storm drains along Jersey Shore.

Volunteers have rescued 826 diamondback terrapin hatchlings who were in hiding and surviving off yolk sacks in drains in Ocean City, Margate and Ventnor, according to a Stockton University Facebook post last Wednesday.

The volunteers took the reptiles to Stockton University’s Head Start program for staff to rehabilitate. The turtles will be under staff care for about a year before they can return to the wild, according to NJ Advance Media.

With 1,108 terrapins, the program has reached its capacity.

‘The 826 new rescues join last year’s rescues and head starters raised from road-killed females and eight non-releasable adults,’ the university stated in the post.

The northern diamondback terrapin is medium in size, measuring from 4 to 5.5 inches for males and 6 to 9 inches for females, according to the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey

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