We have been keeping an eye on Goose, the green sea turtle, who was released on August 26, 2009 with a satellite tag so that we could track him. For the past couple months, Goose has been hanging out in Long Island Sound. We expected him to head east to the Gulf stream or south, but he stayed in Long Island Sound for quite some time. We were starting to get worried! Luckily, the hits we got from his tag yesterday show that he has made it out of the sound and is heading south. This is great news. See his map below.



If you would like to follow Goose's track, visit seaturtle.org. You will notice that the map is updated weekly, since we have the tag only transmitting one day per week in order to save battery life. You can sign up to receive email updates or even adopt Goose!

~Kerry

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Labels: Goose, Green Sea Turtle, release, Satellite tracking

Hi all,

I am monitoring the movements of Goose (click here to see all posts about Goose), the green sea turtle, very closely and a bit concerned about the high surf. Of course these animals encounter high surf, storms and tides throughout their lives, however I am being extra cautious since this animal has been in a rehabilitation setting since November. I did not expect to receive as many hits from the tag due to the high surf but so far I am receiving the data.

In the photos below on the left you can see the antenna of the tag standing up straight as compared to the photo on the right where the tag is bending over after the force of a wave. During high surf and storms we often do not receive as much data because this antenna does not clear the top of the waves.



As many of you know, the track of this little green turtle are posted on seaturtle.org. There is a delay in uploading the data on seaturtle.org and I am too excited to wait so I have plotted a position from this morning's data. I have many more locations on this turtle, however the map becomes cluttered with too many plots.



Above is a Google Earth map of the release location, indicated with a yellow arrow, and a position from this morning, indicated by a yellow star (click on the map to enlarge). Goose is currently off the coast of Rhode Island oddly enough off the coast of Gooseberry Island!

-Connie

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Labels: Goose, release, Rhode Island, Satellite tracking

Thanks to the Aquarium's web team, you have already seen photos taken by others who attended our exciting sea turtle release. I was out on a boat all day yesterday working on a leatherback sea turtle research project (I'll blog on that adventure soon), and did not have a chance to blog. I assigned myself the role of photographer for the release. Below is the event through my lens (click on the photos to enlarge).



This event was so popular that even Spiderman took time out from his busy crime fighting schedule to watch the release! In all photos above Aquarium educators talk to the crowd while waiting for the animals to be brought down to the beach.



This part of the release is called the "Walk of Fame." The turtles are removed from their transport boxes and walked around the outskirts of the release area. The crowd remains behind the caution tape, but is given a close view of these spectacular animals. The photo on the right is of a teacher who adopts a tagged turtle each year and then follows the animals' progress with her class--now that's science being brought right into the classroom.



After their 15 minutes of fame, the turtle handlers line up the animals on the beach and place them down at the same time. This year a friendly competition developed among the handlers and the crowd as to which turtle would enter the water first. The Audubon turtle won by a mile, and so did it's cheering section!



After making their way down the beach, the turtles enter the big blue! The photo on the right is a green sea turtle we named Goose (read all the posts about him by clicking here). I attached a satellite transmitter to his shell so I can see how well Goose does after rehabilitation. The tag will also provide data on where this animal goes, the surrounding water temperature, and the depth and duration of it's dives. You can follow the track of this turtle on seaturtle.org. I'll also proved updates on this blog.

-Connie

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Labels: Audubon, Connie, Goose, release

On August 26, 2009, five rehabilitated sea turtles were released on Dowses Beach in Osterville, Massachusetts. In addition, a hybrid sea turtle named Simba (patient details here) was released at the same time by the University of New England (UNE) Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center. Find out more about each turtle's rescue story by scrolling through all the posts about Bubba, Casper, Dash, Iceman and Goose. You can also follow satellite tracking tags used as part of this release at seaturtle.org.

Flip through this slide show to see more photos from the release taken by education staff member Vickie Cataldo and volunteer Casey Fredette.

Labels: Bubba, Casper, Dash, Goose, hybrid, Iceman, photos, release, University of New England

Today we finished inconel tagging the five turtles that will be getting released (date and location is yet to be determined). Before being released, all of the turtles need PIT tags and inconel tags. We blogged previously about PIT tags here. Inconel tags are superalloys that are corrosion and oxidation resistant. Imprinted on the tags are distinct numbers that get reported to the Cooperative Marine Turtle Tagging Program.


Preparing to tag

Iconel tag and tagging equipment


Both rear flippers are tagged. The area is cleaned with sterile scrubs in order to prevent any infection. This process is not painful for the turtle, and probably can best be described as the pinch you would feel if getting your ear pierced. We also numb the area with lidocaine prior to application, so there is little chance they will feel any discomfort. It is a very quick process, and the turtles are already back in their tanks swimming and don't even notice their new jewelry!



Bubba gets measured one last time.

Stay tuned for updates and photos of the release of these turtles. We are also planning on satellite tagging Goose to follow the exploits of this turtle out at sea.

Labels: Bubba, Goose, Iconel, PIT tag, release

Labels: Caspar, Goose, Iceman, Sea Turtle Recovery Room, Top Gun, University of New England

Currently we still have six sea turtles here in the Rescue and Rehabilitation department. You might know these turtles already, and if you don't follow the link to read all the posts about them.

Labels: Bubba, Cape Cod Bay, Casper, Dash, Goose, Hideaway, Iceman, laceration, Orion, physical therapy, Route, Sea Turtle Recovery Room, treadmill, University of New England

In the wild, sea turtles have rocks to rub against, caves to hide in, and vegetation to swim through. At the New England Aquarium, we try to make our sea turtles in rehabilitation as comfortable as possible. To do this, we use environmental enrichment. I reported previously that Goose, our green sea turtle, was not eating his vegetables!

Rescue interns Adrienne and Denise designed and built a lettuce holding device that would allow Goose to be more stimulated to eat the lettuce. The 'lettuce forest,' as we call it, was made to hold the lettuce for Goose to eat as well as give him something to swim or hide in. We tested this for the first time on Friday.

Three different types of lettuce (romaine, kale, and collards) were secured on the contraption, which was then lowered into Goose's tank. At first Goose wanted nothing to do with it!


Eventually he became curious and was hovering over the lettuce.


Then he decided to take a bite and just kept on eating! It was very exciting to see Goose getting the nutrients he needs!


After sampling all the types of lettuce, he started to swim through the leaves and rub his head against the lettuce. He was also nibbling on it every once in a while for the next couple hours.

This whole event was visible in our Sea Turtle Recovery Room and aquarium visitors were able to watch great natural behaviors of green sea turtles. The enrichment was a success and we plan on continuing to offer Goose lettuce using this method. Maybe you'll be able to get a glimpse during your next visit!

~Kerry

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Labels: enrichment, Goose, Green Sea Turtle, lettuce forest

On November 20, 2008, Goose stranded in Eastham and came to the Aquarium for treatment. Goose, named for a gooseneck barnacle on his carapace, is a green sea turtle. When he first arrived he was not breathing on his own and had to be placed on a ventilator. He was also given emergency drugs to stimulate his heart and breathing. After about two hours, Goose became alert and was swimming in a kiddie pool for short periods by the end of the day!



As posted on February 11, Goose spent some time being cared for at the University of New England Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center and returned to the Aquarium when our Sea Turtle Recovery Room opened. He is now off medications and doing very well. He is currently on a diet because he eats everything in sight, except his vegetables of course. We offer him romaine lettuce because green sea turtles eat plant material in the wild, but so far he prefers fish. There is a great view of him in our Sea Turtle Recovery Room so stop by and visit!

- Kerry

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Labels: Goose, Green Sea Turtle, Sea Turtle Recovery Room

Things are going well for our cold-stunned turtles that were rescued in November and December. We have recently opened several new pools in our Sea Turtle Recovery Room, so we have space for more turtles. Yesterday we received three turtles back from the University of New England Marine Animal Rescue Center. These three turtles (two Kemp's ridley and one green turtle) were found stranded on Cape Cod beaches, and were transported to New England Aquarium for emergency care.

After several days of care, the turtles' condition had improved, so we coordinated with our colleagues at University of New England to transfer the animals to their facility for further care. This gave us more space to accept additional stranded turtles from Cape Cod. Now that the stranding season is over (our last turtle was stranded in late December), we have room to accept turtles back to the Aquarium to complete their rehabilitation. The turtles will likely remain with us until July or August, when they will be released to the wild.

The photos above show the new green turtle, named Goose. Green turtles are very beautiful. They differ from Kemp's ridley turtles in that they enjoy eating plant material. We thank the staff and students of the University of New England for their assistance, and for the excellent care they provided to these turtles.

-Dr. Innis

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Labels: Goose, Green Sea Turtle, Kemp's ridley sea turtle, Sea Turtle Recovery Room, University of New England