BOSTON (CBS) – Seventeen endangered sea turtles rescued last autumn off of Cape Cod are about to be re-released into the wild.

They were suffering from hypothermia, dehydration, and malnutrition when marine experts rescued them.

The fifteen Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles and two loggerheads spent the winter rehabbing at New England aquarium.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030′s Doug Cope reports

Because the sea turtles are ready to go, but the local waters are still too cold for them to survive, New England Aquarium staff will leave Quincy early Sunday morning and drive ten hours to the Virginia shore, where they will be released.