First Beach Release of 2013 on May 23rd at Isle of Palms County Park!

In partnership with the SC Department of Natural Resources and Charleston County Parks and Recreation Commission, the South Carolina Aquarium will be releasing 5 rehabilitated sea turtles at the Isle of Palms County Park on May 23rd at 4 pm. The public is invited to watch as a Kemp’s ridley, 2 loggerheads and 2 green sea turtles rejoin sea turtle populations in the Atlantic Ocean.  County Park parking fees apply and carpooling is strongly encouraged as traffic will be heavy into the park.

Birdie
Birdie is a Kemp's ridley from South Carolina (Bird Key) that was found by a fisherman entangled in monofilament fishing line. We are grateful to so many boaters and fishermen that find these sick and injured animals in the water and bring them to safety.

 

Birdie had monofilament entangled around the neck and left front and rear flippers.

The worst of the entanglements was the left knee. The fishing line had wrapped multiple times around the joint, cutting deeply into the skin.

Had the fisherman not found the turtle when he did, Birdie may have lost the rear flipper and ultimately his life. Birdie has now fully recovered and his limbs are in great condition!

Manteo
Manteo, a loggerhead, was one of almost 80 sea turtles that cold-stunned off the North Carolina coast this past winter. In an effort to help NC facilities that were overrun with patients, Manteo was one of three loggerheads to be admitted to the South Carolina Aquarium and is the last of the three to be released.

Profile shot of the lethargic, cold-stunned Manteo.

A healthy Manteo getting weighed in our Sea Turtle Hospital.

Taylor
Taylor is a loggerhead that cold-stunned off the New England coast this past winter. When the New England Aquarium was swamped with cold-stunned sea turtles this winter, Taylor and several Kemp's ridleys flew first class to Charleston in a Cheyenne Turbo Prop donated by owner and pilot Michael Taylor. When Taylor was first admitted, he had a heart rate of only 8 beats per minute and was very ill. It took him a month to begin eating.

Taylor right off the plane.

Taylor had many lesions and cuts on the soft tissue and plastron. We are thrilled that he has made a full recovery and is ready for release!

Barney and McCann
These two juvenile green sea turtles cold-stunned off the New England coast in December 2012 and were flown to the South Carolina Aquarium by pilot Gary Davis of Davis Air, Inc. and copilot Neal McCann. These once cold, lethargic sea turtles have transformed into strong, wild animals. We love seeing how feisty the turtles get when they are feeling better!



Barney just after he arrived at the South Carolina Aquarium.



Barney (left) and tankmate, Bristol (right), in the Aquairum's Sea Turtle Hospital. The greens have such beautiful starburst pattens on their scutes! 

McCann, named after co-pilot Neal McCann, has made a quick recovery.

Several months after arrival, a feisty McCann is taken out of his tank for weights and measurements.

 Tips for having a great sea turtle release:

• Come out as early as possible (as much as 2 hours early) so you get a good parking place and a good spot on the ropes. The beach is a wonderful place to be!
• Plan to pay for County Park parking fees.
• The releases are usually very well attended and traffic gets very heavy. Carpool to lessen the traffic coming onto the Isle of Palms and into the County Park. 
• Look for people wearing yellow Sea Turtle Rescue shirts and ask lots of questions about the program and turtles being released.
• Bring water in a reusable water bottle.
• Bring a camera and take lots of photos!

We hope to see you there!

Kelly Thorvalson

Sea Turtle Rescue Program Manager

Recent Cold Stun Arrivals Bring Patient Load to 25

With the eastern coast of the US experiencing one of the largest cold-stunning events in history, the South Carolina Aquarium's Sea Turtle Rescue Program has admitted 18 cold stunned sea turtles since December to help. In addition to the ten endangered sea turtles flown in by private pilot on December 5th from New England, 8 additional sea turtles that originally cold stunned North Carolina and New England were recently admitted.

North Carolina Cold Stun Admissions

On Thursday, January 10th, South Carolina Aquarium staff met Sarah Finn from the NC Wildlife Commission at the NC/SC border to transfer three juvenile loggerheads that had recently cold stunned in NC.

Sarah carries a bin with one of the loggerhead sea turtles to the Aquarium's husbandry van.

Each turtle was transferred to a new transport container.

The loggerheads travel in separate containers with padding. It is not necessary to transport them in water since they are air breathers. 

Manteo immediately crawled to the corner of the bin but then stayed quiet for the rest of the ride.

Kit stays calm during the medical evaluation.

The turtles receive full physical examinations.

Buxton goes into the holding pool in the Aquarium's Sea Turtle Hospital.

New England Cold-Stun Admissions

On Monday, January 14th, five additional sea turtles were flown in by private pilot Michael Taylor from the Boston, MA area. The loggerhead and 4 Kemp's ridleys had been receiving treatment at the New England Aquarium's Animal Care Center.

The plane coming in for the landing at Atlantic Aviation in Charleston, SC.

The Piper Cheyenne 400 twin turboprop - a beautiful plane!

Owner and pilot, Michael Taylor lifts the juvenile loggerhead out of the cargo space...

...and hands it over to Kelly Thorvalson. What a gorgeous sea turtle!

Atlantic Aviation staff helps offload the boxes of Kemp's ridley sea turtles.

A close up photo of the loggerhead that has been named "Taylor" after the pilot. The purple band on the left flipper helped to identify the turtle during its stay at the New England Aquarium's Animal Care Center where many loggerheads are being treated.

The turtles get loaded into the Aquarium's husbandry van to be transported to the Sea Turtle Hospital.

Sea Turtle Biologist Christi Hughes and intern Joni Vaughn help to move the animals into the hospital.

The numbers on the sea turtles are for identification purposes at the New England Aquarium. With so many sea turtles in the tanks, these numbers kept staff organized with patient medications, medical procedures and feeding. 

Weights and measurements were taken and the turtles received full physical examinations.

They were then put into their respective holding tanks.

The Post and Courier and AP media were there to document the admission.

A Kemp's ridley with a healing neck lesion.

A Kemp's ridley with loss of keratin on the front of its face.

A huge THANK YOU to Michael Taylor for his generous donation of time and flight to get these animals safely to Charleston to finish treatment. Also to the hundreds of volunteers and donors that are instrumental in the rescue, transport, rehabilitation, and ultimate release of these sea turtles. 

With 25 sea turtles currently in treatment at the South Carolina Aquarium's Sea Turtle Hospital, it is a great time to visit! Learn more about the behind-the-scenes tours and visit them online by visiting the hospital webpage. 

Warmest wishes,

Kelly Thorvalson