New England Aquarium Returns 18 Sea Turtles to Atlantic After Months of Care
The New England Aquarium released 18 critically endangered sea turtles into the Atlantic Ocean after months of rehabilitation. According to a Boston 25 News report, biologists from the New England…
Photo courtesy of NC State Parks, a division of the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
The New England Aquarium released 18 critically endangered sea turtles into the Atlantic Ocean after months of rehabilitation.
According to a Boston 25 News report, biologists from the New England Aquarium transported 12 Kemp's ridley and two loggerhead sea turtles from the Aquarium's Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy, Massachusetts, to Fort Fisher, North Carolina, for their first release of the season on Monday, April 13.
The turtles were found cold-stunned on Cape Cod beaches in November and December. They spent four to five months in care being treated for pneumonia and dehydration.
According to the aquarium, the release trip included careful temperature-controlled transportation and veterinary clearances to align water temperatures at the destination for easy acclimation.
The aquarium has a history of naming the sea turtles that receive months-long care. This year, aquarium staff chose to name the turtles after fonts. Boston 25 News noted that some of the turtles in the group included the following:
- “Meep”: Meep had a heart rate of 1 beat per minute when it was discovered and a deep fracture in its shell that could have affected the animal's mobility. Meep has healed and can now use all four flippers.
- “Broadway”: Broadway was a small turtle that arrived very underweight and has now gained almost three pounds.
- “Comic Sans”: Comic Sans arrived at the Sea Turtle Hospital with severe pneumonia in the right lung. After receiving treatment for pneumonia, the turtle soon transitioned to eating squid and herring steaks.
- “Poor Richard” and “Mr. Gabe”: They are two of the smallest loggerheads that aquarium staff helped to rehabilitate.
7NEWS Boston reported that biologists also released four rehabilitated sea turtles from Mystic Aquarium.
Aquarium officials said the remaining 44 rescued sea turtles at its facility will be released off Cape Cod when the water warms up.
