Iguanas aren't the only animals struggling in the cold; record number of sea turtles arrive at NC rehab center

TOPSAIL ISLAND, N.C. (WTVD) -- A cold snap has flooded a turtle rehab center with more animals in need than ever before.

Volunteers at the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center said they are treating more than 100 turtles. Forty-seven sea turtles were admitted Friday alone.

The turtles are cold-stunned. They are reptiles, which are cold-blooded. Cold-blooded animals cannot regulate their body temperature. So often when temperatures drop quickly, the animals seize up.

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The rehabilitation center in Topsail Island said it has never had so many turtles in need of help at one time.

Volunteers are the center are working tirelessly to nurse the turtles back to health and release them back into the wild.

"We all know, there's no place like home. So we get them down to the water, we wade out with them. There comes that moment where they push away from you and they're gone. Your heart just accelerates. It's wonderful to see them go back home," Jean Beasley said in an interview with WECT.

Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center plans to begin releasing the rehabilitated turtles back into the wild starting June 3.