Good News/Bad News

I called the Gulfarium today to check on our most recent live sea turtle strandings. Clover, the Chelonia mydas Mark and his sons rescued last summer, is still there and doing well. She's grown by leaps and bounds and they're still hoping to release her. For now, they are fitting her with a weighted prosthetic of sorts that will help her learn to swim properly (aka 'not swim with her butt in the air'). If she can't learn to dive, she can't be released as wild green sea turtles graze on sea grass beds, so they really have to dive! She may still need surgery to correct her two dislocated hips.



Gracie wasn't so lucky. When Jennifer and I brought the large female Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) in on New Year's Day, she was covered in barnacles and polychaetes and algae. She had lost her right front flipper to fishing gear entanglement and had severe cuts on the remaining front flipper. She was lucky that Grace, a Starbuck's barista in Gulf Breeze, was able to get her out of the cold Gulf of Mexico on New Year's Eve to get her some much needed medical attention.



When I went to visit in January, Gracie was doing really well! They had cleaned her carapace of all the marine hitchhikers and wrapped her flippers in pretty green bandages as they knew I was coming to visit (she was not on public display). She wasn't eating well, but seemed to be regaining strength otherwise. They started to force feed her and were concerned when her white blood cell count was elevated. The vet performed surgery, but found that the remaining bone in her injured flipper was dead and infected; the infection was apparently too much for her body to handle, and Gracie passed away.



Hearing that broke my heart. I really do love my turtles. You would too if you could look into their eyes and understand the struggles they've already faced, and the apparent turtle-wisdom gained. This powerful, fortunate and seasoned animal had overcome countless obstacles just to grow out of the hatchling stage. Reaching maturity and old age required decades of growth, long migrations, years of nesting activity and unimaginable demonstrations of strength and perseverance. I have so much respect for these turtles and their arduous journey through the wild seas.

Gracie was a champion, and her passing saddens me greatly. There are so few Kemp's left that each mature female has a tremendous impact on the species survival. As a large adult, Gracie had likely already nested for years and replaced herself in the population, reaching a measure of Darwinian success, but her loss is still a loss. Turtles are truly magnificent creatures. Guess that's why I've spent my life trying to help them survive...

Coast Guard and the Kemp's Ridley

Jennifer and I got called in to work last night about 5:30 -- the coast guard in Pensacola had an injured Kemp's Ridley sea turtle at their station. Given the holiday, no marine aquarium staff were around and the stranding team didn't want to respond, so Jennifer and I ran over to pick up the turtle and nurse it through the night.



After we finished bandaging her front flippers to try to slow the bleeding, we brought her back to the park. She spent the night in our shower, nestled in a harsh Coast Guard wool blanket. She must have been sick for awhile, given the amount of barnacles covering her carapace.



After a long night at the office, we drove her to Destin, Florida this morning. The staff at the Gulfarium were expecting her, but had no idea her injuries were so severe. I'm sure she'll do well under their care...

While we were there, we checked on the green turtle, Clover, we took to the Gulfarium in June. She has two dislocated hips and a broken pelvis, but they don't know if surgery will work at this point. It would be great to release her as we need more nesting greens on the beach, but she may never be able to dive and feed herself without the use of her rear flippers. She was so much chubbier than when we dropped her off, and her shell sparkled in the early morning light. It's great to see she's doing so well!