By The Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) — A cold sea turtle that washed ashore on the Long Beach Peninsula was dead on arrival at the Seattle Aquarium.
The female olive ridley turtle was found Friday on a beach north of Oysterville, Wash., and stabilized at the Seaside Aquarium in Seaside, Ore.
It was taken to the Seattle Aquarium for rehabilitation, but a spokesman, Tim Kuniholm, says it was dead on arrival Monday evening.
He says it’s very hard to tell if a cold-shocked sea turtle is alive. Officials weren’t sure until they conducted a blood test during an examination.
This was the second turtle to wash ashore recently on the coast of southwest Washington. A turtle found Dec. 21 is recovering at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport.
Olive ridley turtles are typically found in tropical waters from Peru to California.
Some officials believe currents and winds are carrying turtles into the cold Northwest waters.
