Gathered under the sunlit skies of South Padre Island, Texas, Laurie Nielson from Iowa marveled at the sight unfolding before her eyes. On this particular Thursday, a remarkable event took place as 300 sea turtles made their journey back into the Gulf, captivating onlookers with each determined stride toward the water.
“This is wonderful to see, especially when my niece was out here helping. It’s great!” Nielson expressed to Border Report, her excitement palpable over the touching reunion of nature and human effort.
Volunteers with Sea Turtle Inc., help load a large sea turtle from a truck back into the Gulf on Jan. 29, 2026 in South Padre Island, Texas. (Sandra Sanchedz/Border Report) Nielson was just one of approximately 2,000 spectators who flocked to the sandy shores to witness this heartwarming spectacle. The beach, usually just a serene stretch of land, transformed into a bustling hub of environmental enthusiasm.
In a magnificent show of dedication and teamwork, over 800 volunteers took to the beach, carefully guiding the endangered sea turtles back to their ocean home. The turtles had been rescued after a recent cold snap caused Gulf waters to plummet below 50 degrees, posing a significant threat to their survival.
The cold stunned their systems and they needed to be rescued and removed from the waters. The nonprofit Sea Turtle Inc., took them in to its hospital for loving care until the waters warmed up enough.
“Sea turtles use ambient air and the water temperature to regulate their own body temperature. That’s why they like South Padre Island. It’s beautiful here 365 days a year. But on occasion we get unseasonably cold weather and when that happens the water is just too cold for them to regulate their blood temperature and they get kind of catatonic and they can’t swim any more,” Sea Turtle Inc. CEO Wendy Knight told Border Report.
Wendy Knight, CEO of Sea Turtle Inc., right, watches volunteers unload sea turtles before a crowd on Jan. 29, 2026, on South Padre Island. The turtles were put in the Gulf after a cold snap stunned their bodies and rendered them ‘catatonic,’ Knight says. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report) “We had a big cold stun that’s come through over the last three days or so, so this is a great way to end a really exhausting few days. Our staff love release days,” Knight says.
She said 50 turtles were released on Wednesday, and up the coast in Galveston, 100 sea turtles were released with the help of the Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research at Texas A&M University at Galveston.
Sea Turtle Inc., last year opened the largest enclosed sea turtle hospital in the world. It cost over $7 million.
Large tanks with sea turtles at Sea Turtle Inc., a rescue and rehabilitation center for sea turtles on South Padre Island, Texas. (photo by: Jon G. Fuller/VW Pics/ Universal Images Group via etty Images) It’s a popular operation that’s never short on volunteers, one of whom brought a flapping juvenile turtle just before she put it into the Gulf.
“He or she is ready to go. We actually don’t know the gender until they hit maturity,” she said.
That can take 20 to 30 years. In the meantime, this young turtle will have a chance at life thanks to the efforts of the nonprofit.
“They’re anxious to get back home,” said Don Glirbas, who was visiting from South Dakota.
He was in the second row of the burgeoning beach crowd and clapped and smiled as the turtles were brought from trucks and vehicles one by one into the arms of volunteers and walked into the Gulf.
Over 800 volunteers helped to put 300 sea turtles into the Gulf on Jan. 29, 2026, in South Padre Island, Texas. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report) The creatures flapped their mighty fins as soon as they caught site of the water and there was no problem getting any to swim away. Although a couple weighed so much that it took several people to hoist them into the surf.
“It’s fascinating. It really is. It’s cool that they do this,” said retiree Dave Vanvickle of Hot Springs Village, Arkansas.
He’s never seen a sea turtle release before and didn’t even know about this one prior to Thursday morning. But he says now it’s on his radar and he’ll be back for the next one.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.
