Team Tortuga partners with Menchie's to save sea turtles!

Team Tortuga and Menchie's Frozen Yogurt are working together to raise awareness and funds for sea turtle this entire weekend. Bring this flier to Menchie's in Belle Hall and 20% of sales will be donated to Team Tortuga's efforts. To speak with the East Cooper Montessori kids that make up Team Tortuga and enjoy turtle crafts and face painting, visit Menchie's from 12-4pm today (Saturday, 4/28). Please forward the flier to your friends and family!

First sea turtle release of the season on April 29!

In partnership with the SC Department of Natural Resources and Charleston County Parks and Recreation Commission, the South Carolina Aquarium will be releasing 6 sea turtles back into the wild at the Isle of Palms County Park on April 29^th at 10:30am. The public is invited to watch as 4 Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, 1 juvenile loggerhead, and the rare green/loggerhead hybrid rejoin sea turtle populations in the Atlantic Ocean. County Park gates will open at 9:30am (30 minutes earlier than normal for this occasion), and parking fees apply. Carpooling is strongly encouraged as traffic will be heavy into the park.

The loggerhead being released is Little River from Little River, SC. She suffered traumatic carapace injuries from a boat propeller, a partial front flipper amputation, and partial paralysis of the rear flippers. In the video below, Little River is pulled for a monthly weight check. The rear flipper usage is stronger out of water than she exhibits while swimming and we are confident that she will continue to gain movement in the wild.

The rare green/loggerhead hybrid sea turtle, Eclipse, and four Kemp's ridleys, Mason, Innis, Sampson and Eastham, have also been medically cleared for release. These animals were cold-stunned off the New England Coast in December and treated at the New England Aquarium, then transported to the South Carolina Aquarium in January. These young turtles are definitely the most active sea turtles currently in our care and can be seen swimming and enjoying various forms of enrichment. We offer a variety of enrichment to our sea turtles including fish pops, back scratchers, live crabs, and sleeping tubes.

Catching sea turtle patients napping in their tubes never ceases to delight staff, volunteers and hospital guests. Innis and Sampson are pictured below sleeping in their pipes.  Sea turtle are not able to retract into their shells like other turtles so in the wild they will sleep in the safety of caves and over hangs. The tubes in their tanks mimic these habitats and sea turtles of all sizes and species utilize them.

Fish pops, frozen water with fish, are great way for sea turtles to seek out their food in a totally different way than normal, providing brain stimulation and exercise for their jaw muscles! Below is a video of Eastham really enjoying his fish pop filled with mackerel and capelin.

Get involved! Learn more about each patient’s medical care in our Sea Turtle Hospital, visit the patients in the hospital this week before they get released – tour days and times are HERE, and come out to watch these animals be released into the wild next Sunday. It is an experience you won’t soon forget!

The Sea Turtle Rescue Team

Debilitated loggerhead admitted into Aquarium's Sea Turtle Hospital

A severely debilitated loggerhead sea turtle was rescued on Saturday afternoon after being found floating in the Dewees Inlet. Rescuers Courtney, Jim, and their dog Moses, are no strangers to sea turtles, spending a great deal of time in coastal waters for work (Barrier Island Eco Tours) and play. While enjoying the beautiful spring day they encountered the sea turtle floating at the water's surface and it was obvious the animal was in distress. As they inched the boat closer to get a better look, the turtle was unable to dive.

Stranding team members from the Island Turtle Team and the SC Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) responded to the stranding call and transported the sea turtle to the Aquarium's Sea Turtle Hospital for medical treatment.

The emaciated turtle is covered in barnacles and other marine growth, a sign that the turtle was lethargic in the ocean. Also present is a necrotic lesion on the neck (close-up photo below). Once at the Aquarium, diagnostic tests revealed severe anemia (PVC 8%), hypoglycemia (no detectable blood glucose), and hypoproteinemia (very low blood protein level). In addition, the turtle had a very low heart rate of 12 beats per minute. 

Treatment included a cocktail of fluids (hetastarch, normasol, and 5% dextrose) administered subcutaneously, two antibiotics, vitamin injections, and wound treatment. The turtle was placed in a very shallow pool of fresh water overnight and although the turtle's prognosis is guarded, we were delighted to find her still alive this morning.

Huge thanks to Courtney, Jim and Moses for this timely rescue and to all of the first responders to sea turtle strandings along the SC coast managed by the SCDNR. Many thanks to our amazing sea turtle staff and volunteers whose help is essential in rehabilitating these critically ill sea turtles. Follow the turtle's progress on the main hospital webpage.

Kelly Thorvalson

Eclipse's First Live Crab Encounter

From what we’ve learned in the previous blog about Eclipse, the unique hybrid turtle has a lot to figure out when it comes to his diet. His head size and two prefrontal scutes are characteristic of a green sea turtle but his beak shape and lack of a serrated jaw are more in line with his maternal side, a loggerhead. Since arriving at the South Carolina Aquarium, hospital staff and volunteers have offered an array of greens to Eclipse, none of which he has been even slightly interested in eating. This past week we decided to test his loggerhead hunting skills by offering a live blue crab and were we ever surprised!

As you can see in the video, Eclipse exhibits loggerhead behavior in his enthusiasm for blue crabs. He had no problems eating the claws but getting the body in his mouth was a challenge. Only once did he get the whole crab into his mouth but didn't seem to have the jaw strength to crush the shell. So the big question is, as he grows, will he have the head size and jaw muscles to consume the hard shelled prey that he is obviously interested in eating?

Whitney Daniel
Sea Turtle Biologist

First SC live stranding admitted into Aquarium's Sea Turtle Hospital

A green sea turtle admitted on St. Patrick's Day - how appropriate! It was definitely this little turtle's lucky day to be rescued on Saturday evening in Cherry Grove, SC. Had recreational fisherman, Jamie Smith, not found him before darkness fell, the turtle may not have survived the night. North Myrtle Beach SCUTE members Rob and Linda responded quickly to the stranding call. Linda gave the turtle the best chance of survival by transporting it to meet Charlotte Hope from SCDNR in Georgetown for the transfer - a long drive for all involved.

Admitted into the Aquarium's Sea Turtle Hospital about 10:30pm with a low heart rate of 24 beats per minute, high blood CO2, and a core body temperature of 67 degrees F, it is apparent that "Grover" had been in colder waters than his cold-blooded body could tolerate.

Diagnostic tests included bloodwork and x-rays. Initial treatment included fluid therapy, antibiotics, vitamins C and B, and a slow temperature acclimation, all lasting until well after midnight. Although Grover is still very lethargic, the prognosis is favorable.

Huge thanks to all involved in Grover's rescue! Be sure to keep up with his progress on the main hospital webpage.

Kelly Thorvalson
Sea Turtle Rescue Program Manager

PS - The green Team Tortuga shirt I am wearing was given to me by the kids at East Cooper Montessori School that are raising funds for the Sea Turtle Rescue Program as their Peace Project. It was only fitting to wear it on St. Patrick's Day and to honor their efforts!

A closer look at the hybrid sea turtle, "Eclipse"

At first glance, Eclipse appears to be just another feisty sea turtle in our hospital, splashing around his tank and rubbing his shell on his PVC backscratcher. But Eclipse is very unique, and you’ve likely never seen another turtle that looks just like him.

That’s because Eclipse is a rare hybrid, and he possesses an interesting combination of physical traits inherited from his parents. Although genetic analysis is still pending, it’s very apparent that this juvenile is a cross between a loggerhead and a green sea turtle. If you know even a little about the very different life histories of those two species, you’ll be apt to spend as much time as I have pondering the many choices this charismatic little turtle is going to have to make in the future!

The shape of a turtle’s head and beak are indicative of its diet. For example, the loggerhead turtle is known for its large, wide head and massive beak. This combination of a robust beak, which contains cutting and crushing plates, and a large skull, which houses a mass of muscle, enable the loggerhead to easily crush the shells of crabs and mollusks. On the opposite side of the spectrum is the green sea turtle, who is equipped with a small head and beak with a serrated edge. This serrated beak is perfect for tearing and consuming sea grass and algae, staples of the greens’ diet.

Take a look at Eclipse’s head and beak in the picture below. Like a green, his head is small and he has only two scutes (or scales) between the eyes. However, his coloration and beak, which lacks a serrated edge, closely resemble a loggerhead’s. Will he have enough muscle strength in his small skull to eat crabs? Or will he be able to consume sea grass efficiently without a serrated beak?

Sea turtles are often identified in part based on the number of scutes (individual scales or sections) on their carapace (shell). In this aspect, Eclipse also appears to be half green turtle and half loggerhead. On his left side, Eclipse has just four scutes like a green. However, his right side has five scutes, just like a loggerhead. The shape and coloration of his shell more closely resemble a loggerhead’s as well, as he lacks the beautiful marbleized patterns and rounder shape characteristic of green sea turtles.

Regardless of his genetic heritage, Eclipse is thriving in our hospital and has almost fully recovered from being cold-stunned in Massachusetts last November, first receiving treatment at the New England Aquarium. Although he’s not a fan of the romaine lettuce we offer him, a treat which green turtles love to munch on, he chows down on a healthy assortment of restaurant quality fishes like smelt, mackerel, and capelin. Come visit Eclipse in our hospital and learn more about what makes him unique!

Christi Hughes
Sea Turtle Biologist

Help Montessori students and Cinebarre support sea turtle conservation

Students from East Cooper Montessori Charter School are inviting the public to the Cinebarre in Mount Pleasant this Thursday, March 8^th to watch a wonderful film about sea turtles for only $5! Not only will you learn more about these ancient creatures, but you’ll be helping raise money for sick and injured sea turtles that strand along the SC coast. Thanks to the generosity of Cinebarre, all proceeds from ticket sales will go towards rehabilitating sea turtles at the Aquarium's Sea Turtle Rescue Program, a non-profit organization with no state or federal funding. Folks are encouraged to come out at 4pm to meet Team Tortuga, the group of students working so hard to save sea turtles, visit informational tables about turtle rescue and nest protection, and order delicious food from Cinebarre before the movie starts at 4:30pm.

This is just one of several events planned by Team Tortuga for their Peace Project, a year-long project implemented by the school that teaches students to give back to their community. The kids have three primary goals for this project: 1) to raise awareness about the environmental pressures sea turtles face, 2) to teach basic conservation tips, and 3)  raise $1000 for the Sea Turtle Rescue Program, allowing the students to become the highest level of Stranded Turtle Adoptive Parents. Among other things, this adoption will allow a class of 30 to tour the South Carolina Aquarium and Sea Turtle Hospital, receive regular updates on new patients and sea turtle releases, and have a rescue program staff member give a presentation at the school.

Huge thanks to East Cooper Montessori Charter School, Team Tortuga, the Cinebarre movie theater, and all who come out to support these kids’ efforts!  

Kelly Thorvalson