In February 2021, a rare Arctic cold front plunged Texas’s South Padre Island into misery. Water temperatures dropped rapidly, and cold-blooded Green Sea Turtles in Laguna Madre Bay could not adapt to the drastic change. Over 5000 incapacitated sea turtles were paralyzed by the cold. This incident is considered the largest cold-stunning event of green turtles in recorded history. Volunteers braved the cold and swung into action. This extraordinary effort averted a catastrophic loss to the island's turtle population and preserved decades of conservation work for this endangered species.
