Two rehabbed sea turtles released at First Landing State Park

This is one of two green turtles that was found last December suffering from a severely low body temperature.

Credit: Walter Hildebrand/WAVY

 NBCNEWS.com

A large crowd gathered at First landing State Park Thursday morning to see two green turtles released back into the bay.

The crowd steadily grew as staff from the Virginia Aquarium gave the lowdown on the guests of honor. Mint Chocolate Cookie and Pistachio, Pistachio, have been recovering for the last six months.

Photos: Turtles released in Va. Beach

Mint Chocolate Cookie was stranded on the beach in Fort Story on Dec. 14, while Pistachio, Pistachio was found on the shores of False Cape State Park on Dec. 29. Both were diagnosed as cold-stunned.
"They came up cold stunned, meaning that their body was really, really cold so they were really lethargic and sick and then we warmed them up and brought them back to health," said Linda D'eri, Virginia Aquarium.
Turtle releases are nothing new to Hampton Roads, but what is new is how tabs will be kept on them. These two turtles have sonic tags.
"The tags are very small tags that produce a coded message that can be picked up by receivers in the Chesapeake Bay," said Susan Barco, Virginia Aquarium.





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