Photos and video of McClellan's release!

A team of Aquarium staff members get McClellan out of the holding tank she has occupied for almost 4 months...


...and carefully load her into the transport bin.


After arriving at the Isle of Palms County Park, McClellan is taken from the transport container by the release team.


Shelley and Ethan Harrison from Caledonia, Ontario in Canada, were in town for this special release. Ethan, now 9 years old, has raised over $6,000 for the Sea Turtle Rescue Program, starting when he was only 4 years old.


The release team clockwise from left to right: Dan Ashworth, one of the USFWS staff on the boat that rescued McClellan; Kevin Handel, Sea Turtle Rescue Program Intern; Bob Crimian, Sea Turtle Rescue Progam Volunteer; Lee Baldonado, South Carolina Aquarium Environmental Services Manager. Thanks guys!



The release team walked McClellan into the water because of her missing front flipper. She stopped for a few moments on a sandbar but once free of that obstacle, headed out to sea.


Enjoy the video of McClellan's release!




Huge thanks to all involved in the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of this amazing animal!
Kelly Thorvalson

Amputee loggerhead to be released this Friday

We are excited to be able to release an adult female loggerhead back into the Atlantic Ocean on Friday, October 7, 2011. McClellan suffered a flipper amputation from a crab trap rope entanglement and loss of a portion of her shell from propeller strikes. Despite these traumatic injuries, she has recovered in less than four months! The public is invited to join us at 1pm at the Isle of Palms County Park for this release held in partnership with the SC Department of Natural Resources and the Charleston County Parks and Recreation Commission. Arrive early to get a good parking space (County Park parking fees apply).

Visit the Sea Turtle Hospital at http://scaquarium.org/STR/hospital/default.aspx to learn more about McClellan’s injuries and rehabilitation. We hope to see you Friday!

1st Annual Logtoberfest on Folly Beach!

Come out to Loggerhead's on Folly Beach this Saturday, October 8th for the 1st Annual Logtoberfest from 4PM - 2AM. Enjoy the oyster roast and BBQ for only $20 with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Rescue Program. No purchase necessary to enjoy live music from Graham Whorley, Jamisun, and Howard Dlugasch on the outside stage and the Dubplates inside at 10.

Hope to see you there!
Kelly Thorvalson

Gumby showing great improvement!

The 1-3 year old loggerhead that stranded on Kiawah in June has broken the heart of many visitors as she floated listlessly, unable to swim or dive. In addition to having anemia, radiographs revealed a severe case of metabolic bone disease. Little Gumby has been on a rigorous health plan that includes a proper diet, daily calcium injections, and an hour long daily dose of sunlight. The photo below shows an extremely lethargic Gumby as s/he receives an injection just after being admitted.

Sunlight is a significant source of vitamin D because the UV rays trigger vitamin D synthesis in the skin. Calcium can only work with the presence of vitamin D, so both are extremely important to bone health and development for all living creatures.

When we take sea turtles out for sun, it is important to maintain a constant water temperature. Hospital staff and interns in the photo below eat lunch outside on a 95 degree day while they consistently monitor Gumby's water temperature, adding chips of ice to cool down when necessary.

After three months of treatment, Gumby is behaving much more like a normal juvenile loggerhead - swimming around the tank, diving for food, sleeping on the bottom, and even biting at staff when we pull him for treatments and sun.

Follow-up radiographs reveal an increasing bone density. Take a close look at the comparison photo below, the flipper bones in particular.

Although Gumby has a long way to go before he will be able to be released into the wild, s/he is making great progress!

Kelly Thorvalson

Jammin' for Jammer at the Windjammer

Join us at the Windjammer on the Isle of Palms this Tuesday, September 13 at 7pm to enjoy cuisine from eleven amazing restaurants and music from 3 live bands, all for only $15! There will also be a silent auction with many wonderful items including a surf board, art, and a family membership to the South Carolina Aquarium. The funds raised will support the Aquarium's Sea Turtle Rescue Program, helping to offset some of the costs of rehabilitating Jammer, the loggerhead that stranded near the Windjammer in April of 2011.

Jammer was on death's door when he arrived at the South Carolina Aquarium. To see photos of Jammer's rescue and admission, go to  http://seaturtlehospital.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html. Visit the main hospital webpage at http://scaquarium.org/STR/hospital/default.aspx for additional photos, medical treatment and progress.

Huge thanks to the sponsors of the fundraiser and to all those contributing. Come on out...it's going to be a JAM GOOD TIME!

Kelly Thorvalson

Newest patient from the Edge of America

On Tuesday evening, an endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle stranded on Folly Beach, the local barrier island commonly known as 'the Edge of America.' The small turtle was originally found by Lucinda Gilbert, a resident on the island. Nancy Smith, Bob Neville and Sharon Hally from the Folly Beach Turtle Watch responded to the stranding and contacted Charlotte Hope from the SCDNR, who then transported the turtle to the South Carolina Aquarium's Sea Turtle Hospital for medical care. It takes a whole slew of folks to save a sea turtle and we are grateful for each person along the way!

"Edge" is thin, lethargic, anemic, and unable to submerge in water. Because of the timing as well as the condition of the turtle, it is presumed that Edge was tossed around in the rough oceanic waters during Hurricane Irene and "his" health declined as a result. The lucky little turtle landed in just the right place for healing, rest and relaxation.

Current therapy includes antibiotics, vitamins and fluids. Although Edge isn't eating yet, we are hoping he will soon be enticed so he can start putting on a little weight. For our invertebrate folks out there, we found a few very interesting barnacles on this turtle's shell that can be seen in the photo below. There is very little information about barnacle species on the internet so we are looking to (and appreciating!) our local barnacle expert from the Citadel, Dr. John Zardus, for species identification. These critters may tell us a little more about where this turtle has been. Most of the barnacles will eventually die and be removed from the shell (and nose) but for the time being, they are not causing the turtle problems.

We would like to send a huge THANK YOU to all involved in rescuing sick and injured sea turtles from our waters and beaches. If you find a sea turtle in need of assistance, be sure to call the SCDNR stranded turtle hotline at 1-800-922-5431.

Kelly Thorvalson

SCUTE volunteers donate medical equipment

It all started with a young boy named Timmy Mitten from Virginia. Timmy's family was on vacation in Garden City and one evening, Timmy helped the SCUTE (South Carolina United Turtle Enthusiasts) nest protection volunteers by keeping a close eye on the rising tide. He wanted to be sure it didn't interfere with the hatchlings making their way out of the nest. A little later, Timmy gave the team $1 to help sea turtles. He could have spent his money on candy or gum, or maybe a video game in the arcade, but all that was on Timmy's mind was helping the turtles. And that he did.

That dollar donation prompted the Garden City turtle team to find out if there were any medical needs in the Aquarium's Sea Turtle Hospital with which they could fund. That dollar turned into about $1,500 that has provided a new gurney (stretcher) and IV poles for the Sea Turtle Rescue Program!

Sue Harbemeyer spearheaded the time-consuming project to find a gurney that would accommodate sea turtles large and small, as they are transported from the basement hospital facility to the 1st floor medical clinic for x-rays and surgeries. The IV poles were ordered by Terry Senior and used during surgery only days after their arrival.

The photo below is of the gurney that we have used for approximately 4 years. Ripped and rusted, it has certainly seen it's better days!

And the new one from the SCUTE team...they sent an extra mattress, too!

The first use of the gurney was to force feed Yawkey (and it was successful).

We would like to extend a huge thanks to Sue and Hans Harbermeyer, Terry Senior, Linda and Dan Williams, Mari Armstrong, Franc Coker and of course, Timmy Mitten, for the much needed contributions to the Sea Turtle Rescue Program!

Sincerely,
Kelly Thorvalson