Sea Turtle Healing Center Update
S taff and volunteers at the Sea Turtle Healing Center have been busy
the past few months—we admitted 11 new patients and celebrated
nine sea turtle releases! Our most recent success story is Teresa, a
sub-adult loggerhead who came to us back in March. She was found
floating in Port Canaveral by a Brevard County Sheriff’s Office patrol
boat.
Teresa arrived severely underweight and covered in barnacles
and algae. Patients in this condition, with no apparent injuries or
trauma, are simply called “debilitated turtles.” Most often, these
turtles are anemic with internal infections of some kind. We treated
Teresa with antibiotics, vitamins, iron injections and an iron-rich diet.
She was given live crabs and other wholesome food items to bring
her weight up.
After four months in our care, Teresa was ready to go home! Sea Turtle
Conservancy (STC) invited us to release Teresa on July 30 as part of their
kick-off party for an annual event they hold called Tour de Turtles. It was
our first time being asked, so of course we said yes!
For this event, STC partners with donors to purchase satellite transmitters
that are attached to adult loggerhead, green, hawksbill and leatherback
sea turtles. The tagged turtle racers are released and the distance they
travel is recorded. The turtle traveling the longest overall distance from
August 1 to October 24 is the Tour de Turtles winner!
Although she was not tagged with a satellite transmitter like the other
released turtles, Teresa was still a star! She crawled off the beach quickly
and popped her head out of the water a few times to say goodbye.
You can now follow our patients’ journeys on the official Zoo blog! Visit
brevardzoo.org/tag/meet-the-patients to check on everyone’s progress.
Do you know what to do if you
come across a sea turtle on the beach?
Sea turtles are protected under the Endangered Species
Act, so here are some tips and phone numbers to keep
handy if you see a sea turtle in need of help.
If you find a dead, sick, or injured sea turtle, please call
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s
(FWC) 24-hour Wildlife Alert Number at 1-888-404-FWCC
(1-888-404-3922) or dial *FWC on your mobile phone.
If you find a hatchling
sea turtle on the
beach at night, please
leave it alone. Sea
turtles usually hatch
at night when the
air temperature is
cooler and the risk of
predation is lowest.
It is extremely rare
to witness hatchlings making their way to the ocean at
night, so you are lucky if you get to experience this!
If you find a hatchling or “washback” sea turtle on the
beach during the day, please call Sea Turtle Preservation
Society (STPS) hotline at 321-206-0646. If they are able,
STPS will send a volunteer to your location to pick up
the hatchling. If a volunteer is not available, STPS may
request that you take the hatchling to and approved
hatchling drop-off locations.
It is very important that the hatchling not be put in
water. These little turtles are often weak and/or injured,
and they may not be strong enough to lift their head to
breathe in water. The best way to transport a hatchling
is in a container with damp sand or a damp cloth on the
bottom. Cover the container, so the turtle stays shaded
and calm.
Thank you for watching out for your local wildlife!
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