An olive ridley turtle now in Newport recovering from hypothermia will be moved to San Diego tomorrow (Tuesday).
The turtle was named “Solstice” because she was found on a northwest beach on December 21st. Erin Paxton is with the Oregon Coast Aquarium. She says the endangered animal was scheduled to recuperate there a little longer, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has ruled her healthy enough to travel. Paxton says this is good news:
Paxton: “The move to San Diego is ideal because if we were to have a power outage here in Newport, her rehabilitation room could get cold and, as a reptile, she can’t regulate her body temperature. So the move down to San Diego means that she’ll be that much closer to a climate that’s well suited to her.”
Paxton estimates Solstice will remain under human care until late summer, when she’ll be released in warm U.S. waters near San Diego.