Girl Scout Troop #699 Holds Festival to Benefit the Sea Turtle Rescue Program!

Come out to Cinebarre in Mt. Pleasant this Saturday, May 11th for a Sea Turtle Festival held by Girl Scout Troop #699 starting at 5PM! Enjoy food, crafts, face painting and an outdoor movie starting at dusk with all proceeds benefiting the South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Rescue Program.

Hope to see you there!
Whitney Daniel

First Live SC Strandings of 2013 Admitted to the South Carolina Aquarium

Raker

Admitted on Monday, April 22, this little green sea turtle was covered in barnacles, algae and a thick layer of sand from getting pounded in the surf. The beach workers/rakers on Myrtle Beach that found the endangered turtle were very concerned and went to great lengths to shield "Raker" from the cold winds while they waited for help to arrive. Linda Mataya from the North Myrtle Beach turtle team transported the sick turtle to McClellanville where she was met by SCDNR's Lisa Scarano, who drove him/her the rest of the way to the Aquarium's Sea Turtle Hospital.

The 3.4 kg juvenile green sea turtle hardly moved during admission.

Raker's internal body temperature at the time of admission was 58.1 degrees F which doesn't bode well for a cold-blooded reptile. Due to the animal's poor health, the heart rate was only about 12 beats per minute. In addition to the heavy bioload on the carapace, the turtle sustained severe corneal abrasions on the left eye and it was evident that a secondary infection was present on his/her carapace (shell) between the keratin and bone.

Profile of Raker: you can see soft tissue lesions, the injured eye and algae growth.

I weighed and measured the turtle while Lisa recorded the data.

After measurements and preliminary blood work were taken, Birds and Exotics Vet Dr. Jose Biascoechea guided treatment for the new patient. Raker's core body temperature was consistently monitored and raised at a slow pace of 0.5-1 degree per hour.

Dr. Biascoechea administering subcutaneous fluids.

Dr. Biascoechea and I go over the treatment plan for Raker. Good luck little one!

Raker was really touch and go for three days. The heart rate fluctuated greatly and s/he wasn't taking breaths as often as s/he should, so the blood CO2 levels increased. Oxygen was added to the long list of supportive care and the turtle finally started to show some improvement on Thursday (3 days after admission). For more details and updates on Raker's status, go his/her hospital page.

Crosby
Captain Gresh Megget of Absolute Reel Screamer Charters came across a juvenile green sea turtle in Folly River by Crosby's Seafood on Saturday, April 28. Captain Gresh describes the turtle as covered in barnacles and algae, floating, and swimming in circles. The captain and guests recognized that the turtle was in distress and brought the animal to the Folly Beach boat landing where SCDNR's Jenna Cormany met them for the transfer.

Crosby's rescuer, Captain Gresh at the dock after the rescue.

In addition to being very lethargic with poor blood work and dehydration, the 4kg juvenile green has several external wounds on the carapace and plastron.

The turtle arrived at the South Carolina Aquarium just as the 6th Annual Environmental Stewardship Gala was about to begin. Reminiscent of the Gala 3 years ago, I was able to help admit the turtle just before heading out to enjoy the amazing event on the Aquarium's front lawn.

 

LEFT: Loggerhead admission on evening of 2010 Environmental Stewardship Awards Gala; RIGHT: Green admission on evening of 2013 Environmental Stewardship Awards Gala.

SCDNR stranding volunteer/Sea Turtle Hospital volunteer Barb Gobien, applies triple antibiotic ointment to the plastron wounds.



Whitney and Barb take Crosby's heart rate.

Dr. Shane Boylan does a full physical examination, including inspecting the mouth. Supportive care included fluids, antibiotics, vitamins and wound care.

Crosby is in fair condition after several days of treatment. Be sure to check out the medical page to keep up with his/her progress!

 

Huge thanks to the rescuers and all involved in the transporting and care of these sick sea turtles. Each step is critical in their survival. As the weather warms and sea turtles move into our coastal waters, it is important to be on the lookout for sea turtles in distress. To notify someone of a sick, injured or dead sea turtle, call the SCDNR stranded sea turtle hotline at 1-800-922-5431. And while you are out on the beaches this summer, be sure to pick up any litter you find and keep the beach as safe as possible for our nesting females and hatchlings!

 

Best wishes,

Kelly Thorvalson

Sea Turtle Rescue Program Manager






Upstate School Children Support Sea Turtle Rescue Program During Earth Week

Belton Elementary

The kids at Belton Elementary School in the quaint upstate town of Belton, SC held a big celebration for Earth Day. They not only made skits, songs, and videos about keeping our planet healthy, they also held their 4th Love the Loggerheads Read-A-Thon to raise funds to help sick and injured sea turtles at the South Carolina Aquarium. This year the 3rd, 4th and 5th graders raised a whopping $4,025.50 bringing their grand total to $11,767.55! Wow! This Sea Turtle Rescue fundraiser is held every other year with funds being raised for Jump for the Heart on the opposite years.

Each year of the Love the Loggerheads Read-A-Thon, I travel to Belton approximately 4 hours away from Charleston. There is no way I would miss celebrating with these kids that are so passionate about helping the environment and so proud of their fundraising efforts!

Some of the top readers presented the "big check."

Celebrating the donation with the auditorium full of Belton children!

The big check from the Earth Day celebration now joins the others on the wall in the Sea Turtle Hospital! 

We would like to send our most heartfelt and sincere thanks to the staff and children at Belton Elementary who work so hard to be good stewards of the environment and give back to the community in so many ways. Also, a huge thanks goes to the Belton community for supporting these children in their fundraising efforts. You are all amazing!

Inman Elementary

I was recently contacted by Inman Elementary School in the SC upstate that raised funds to become Stranded Turtle Adoptive Parents. Inman is a small town located outside of Spartanburg and their students read Carolina's Story by Donna Rathmell and Turtle Summer by Mary Alice Monroe to learn more about the sea turtle conservation efforts in SC.  Pete the Cat, famous from the Pete the Cat books, was part of the Turtle Celebration and presented the big check after my presentation. We are grateful for these first time supporters of the Sea Turtle Rescue Program - great job kids!!

The kids gathered in the auditorium to learn more about how the South Carolina Aquarium cares for sick and injured sea turtles.

Pete the Cat delivers the big check!



Pete the Cat shows off Carolina's Story and Turtle Summer, children's books written by local SC authors that have both become mainstays in schools across the nation learning about sea turtles.

Huge thanks to Inman Elementary staff that are teaching children about sea turtles in an area far from the coast and to the kids for their fundraising efforts to help us to treat sea turtles in our hospital! You are making a difference!

Sincerely,

Kelly Thorvalson

Sea Turtle Rescue Program Manager

South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtles Join the Sea Turtle Trek for Florida Release!

Sea Turtle Trek

The 6 SUVs pulling into the gas station one behind the other, looked like the Secret Service. But instead of men in suits getting out of the vehicles, a bunch of road weary yet jolly sea turtle biologists and volunteers piled out. The crew of 12 from the New England Aquarium and National Aquarium started the trip to Florida in Quincy, Massachusetts on Saturday. They made several stops on their way to pick up sea turtles from various rehabilitation facilities that were ready for release. The stop at 5am on I-95 to pick up 5 sea turtles from the South Carolina Aquarium made the grand total 52!

Meet the Turtles

First, meet the 5 South Carolina Aquarium sea turtles that were released:

McNally was one of 10 cold stunned sea turtles flown to Charleston on December 5, 2012 from the New England Aquarium. Blood was pulled (left photo) on McNally and all new patients for baseline health assessment.

Kennedy and the other little guys were safely contained in banana boxes during the December flight donated by Charleston's own Gary Davis of Davis Air, Inc.

Ollie suffered severe propeller strikes to the carapace and skull but healed amazingly well. This little green sea turtle had an extra spunky personality and was a favorite.

Kit is a loggerhead that cold stunned off the NC coast in January. What a difference a few months of care in our Sea Turtle Hospital made in Kit's physical appearance!

Preparation and loading at the South Carolina Aquarium
Long time Sea Turtle Hospital volunteer, Barbara Bergwerf and I met at 2:30 am at the Aquarium for preparation and loading of turtles. The plan was to meet the Sea Turtle Trek caravan on I-95 between 4-5 am which was about an hour away.

Barb and I transferred Kit from his holding tank to the transport container.

The 3-year old loggerhead was pulled from the Sea Turtle Exhibit on the 2nd floor of the Aquarium. Two extremely cute 1-year old loggerheads are now in the exhibit!

The two Kemp's ridleys, McNally and Kennedy (pictured), were sleeping on the bottom on their tanks when I pulled them out. Needless to say, they didn't put up much of a fight!

With the help of Aquarium night security Jamison Scott, the 5 sea turtles were loaded into the Husbandry Van and the first leg of their journey began.

5am Sunday morning at a truck stop on I-95
Barb and I drove approximately an hour to I-95 to meet the Sea Turtle Trek. Our turtles were added to mix and away they drove for the final leg of the trip to Jacksonville, Florida.

 

When we met the caravan and opened the van doors, we found Ollie trying to sneak out of his container. Luckily we had packed the containers well so this was as far as the little escapee could get!

Each vehicle was full of turtle boxes large and small; it was like putting a puzzle together to fit them all!

The Sea Turtle Trek crew had been on the road (trading off drivers) for 13 hours but still had big smiles on their faces! I joined them for a quick photo before they started on the last leg of the trip. 

The Release

The Sea Turtle Trek arrived in Jacksonville, FL about 11am on Sunday morning and released all 52 sea turtles into the ocean. The release crew was happy to feel the warm Florida air and firm ground under their feet.

Transport boxes with turtles were offloaded from the SUVs to the beach.

The 5 South Carolina Aquarium sea turtles were released first!

The South Carolina Aquarium sea turtles left to right: Ollie (green); McNally and Kennedy (Kemp's ridleys close to their releasers and namesakes, Kerry McNally and Adam Kennedy); Kit (loggerhead), Shannon (exhibit loggerhead).

The exhibit loggerhead and Kennedy race for the waters!

The last batch of sea turtles to be released were almost 30 from the New England Aquarium. The entire release crew lined up with turtles. What a moment!!!

Two amazing women - Jennifer Dittmar, Rescue Coordinator for the National Aquarium in Baltimore, and Connie Merigo, Rescue Manager for New England Aquarium. With the help of their staff and volunteers, these two did an amazing job coordinating the Sea Turtle Trek to help 52 threatened and endangered sea turtles get back to the ocean. Great job, ladies!

Most of these sea turtles were rescued this winter as part of the largest cold-stunning event on record in the Northeast. Many facilities, including the South Carolina Aquarium, pulled together to house the sea turtles because the New England Aquarium's Animal Rescue Center was overflowing with turtles. And many of the facilities were able to get sea turtles on this release....a beautiful ending to an exhausting but exhilarating winter. Releasing these animals back into the ocean has a way of wiping away the crazy amount of hours we all worked to get to this point - THIS is why we do what we do.

With love of turtles,
Kelly Thorvalson
Sea Turtle Rescue Program Manager

Organizations involved in the Sea Turtle Trek: New England Aquarium, National Aquarium in Baltimore, University of New England at Biddeford, National Marine Life Center, Riverhead Foundation, Virginia Aquarium and the South Carolina Aquarium.

Earth Fare Donates Organic Produce for the Third Year!

For the third year in a row, Earth Fare has stepped up in a time of need by donating organic vegetables to the South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Rescue Program! It has been a very busy winter for the Sea Turtle Hospital treating a record 25 patients, six being green sea turtles. Hospital staff strives to provide our patients with a diet that is as close as possible to their natural diets in the wild. Young green sea turtles are omnivores and a large part of their diet consists of plant matter such as algae and sea grass. With help from Earth Fare's weekly donations, we are able to offer a wide variety of healthy organic vegetables such as romaine, green and red leaf lettuces, red and green cabbage, and bell peppers to our green sea turtles.

Earth Fare storefront, located in the South Windmere Shopping Center.

Earth Fare is known for their great selection of organic and local produce. 

Small shot of the huge selection Earth Fare offers.

Great information for buying organic.

Earth Fare's Food Philosophy

Produce Manager Matt Setter, handing over a full box of healthy vegetables.

Ollie is very excited to see all the greens!

Ollie enjoying some organic green leaf lettuce from a PVC feeder which allows the sea turtles to feed naturally off the bottom of the tank.

One behalf of the South Carolina Aquarium and our endangered green sea turtles, we would like to thank Earth Fare for their continued support of the Sea Turtle Rescue Program. Please check out Earth Fare either online or at their amazing store in the South Windmere Shopping Center!

 

Whitney Daniel

Sea Turtle Biologist

Meet Peachy and Keen!

Many Sea Turtle Hospital visitors know that there are several non-sea turtle patients here in the hospital. On January 7, 2013 we took in two eastern mud turtles (Kinosternon subrubrum), a species native to South Carolina. “Peachy” is an adult female who was found emaciated in the wild. “Keen” is an adult male who was run over by a lawn mower.

Peachy and Keen arrived together and seem to enjoy each other's company.

For some background information, eastern mud turtles live in freshwater environments. They can be found in many areas of the United States from New York south to Florida and west along the Gulf Coast, as well as northward through the Mississippi River Valley. Mud turtles are omnivores, and they feed mostly in aquatic environments on organisms such as insects, mollusks, amphibians, as well as on aquatic vegetation.

Peachy is very feisty and has recovered quickly. Upon arrival, she weighed 110 grams and now weighs 138 grams! The weight range for an adult mud turtle is 88-263 grams and her current weight is appropriate for her size. Our veterinarian removed a small, round abscess from her left front leg last week and Peachy is healing well from her minor surgical procedure.

Peachy loves to eat the healthy fish and veggies we provide her with, and often snaps her beak in anticipation when she sees her breakfast approaching!

This picture gives a good view of the circular abcess that developed on Peachy's left front leg.

Keen’s recovery has been much slower than Peachy’s. He was put on antibiotics and also fluids for dehydration. Upon arrival, he weighed 97.5 g and now weighs 114 g. However, he is still very thin and prone to dehydration, as he spends all of his time basking under a UV lamp and is not drinking enough water. He has been a very stubborn eater but eats well with our help from tongs.

The white calcium-based paste on Keen's shell has helped to hold the fractured segments together, and will wear off over time.

The tip of Keen's beak was also damaged, but he is still able to eat well.

 Keen still has a long road of recovery ahead of him, but his will to live is strong and he has made progress. Come by and see Peachy and Keen on your next visit to the South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Hospital!

Joni Vaughn

Sea Turtle Rescue Program Intern

Update on our Cold-Stunned Kemp's Ridleys

Our Sea Turtle Hospital is still caring for twelve endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtles that were flown to South Carolina to complete their rehabilitation after stranding in Massachussets this winter. (Blogs detailing the arrival of these turtles can be found here and here.) These ridleys received excellent inital treatment from the New England Aquarium Marine Animal Rescue Program and, as such, arrived at our hospital in stable condition with no major issues.

DAVIS

This 9-pound Kemp's ridley has struggled to recover from cold-stunning in Massachussets last November. X-rays performed in January revealed lung fields that looked somewhat compromised (the normally black lung fields were "cloudy" and hard to see), so a second antibiotic was administered to prevent severe pneumonia. Iron injections were also necessary to combat anemia (PCV=18).



While you probably won't see the issue is this radiograph with Davis' lungs, you can see evidence of the bone deformation present on Davis' shell.

Compare this photo with the one above to see how Davis' shell deformity looks both on the x-ray and in real life. This ridley is very easy to distinguish from the others!

On a good note, Davis is currently off medications and seems to be recovering well. Check out his hospital page here.


Davis on March 7th, 2013.

CAPE COD

This feisty sea turtle stranded in Sandwich, Massachussets, and weighed less than four pounds upon arrival to our facility. Regular physical examinations, which include obtaining weights and measurements, are important to assess the health of these animals, to adjust their diets based on body condition, and are also a great tool for catching potential health issues early.

Cape Cod receives a physical examination.

In the upper right corner of this x-ray, you can see the "finger bones," or phalanges, in Cape Cod's right front flipper. The joint circled in red is beginning to deteriorate and will need to be closely monitored.

Kemp's ridleys are prone to bone issues like we are seeing in Cape Cod. S/he will remain in our care until the bone lysis stabilizes.

SAINT

This endearingly small ridley quickly became a staff favorite. Although thin and weighing only 2.9 pounds at admission, Saint needed only a quality diet and antibiotics to improve his health.



Saint's plastron was bruised and abraded upon arrival in December 2012.

Our veterinarian, Dr. Shane Boylan, is currently reviewing this turtle's blood work and radiographs to see if Saint can be medically cleared and released back into the ocean in the near future.



Saint is an active swimmer and seems to appreciate his first class accommodations (i.e. tank space with a viewing window).

Bring your family to visit all 23 sea turtles currently recuperating in our Sea Turtle Hospital and wish them well before they return to the Atlantic Ocean later this year. Spring break is the perfect time to see these amazing creatures on one of our behind-the-scenes tours, an exciting and educational experience for all. Our ridleys look forward to meeting you!

Christi Hughes

Sea Turtle Biologist