Labels: Georgia Sea Turtle Center, Route

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

Hi all,
As you remember, Route came on the turtle transport to Georgia, however he was not released. Route entered the final phase of his rehabilitation at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC) on Jekyll Island, Georgia (photo below).



This photo was taken inside of the GSTC. A public walkway is positioned in the center of the hospital so visitors can observe the animals in the tanks while remaining a safe distance.


In the photos above Dr. Terry Norton, the GSTC veterinarian and Executive Director prepares to introduce Route to his new tank. Dr. Norton had the opportunity to examine Route with Dr. Innis during a recent trip to the New England Aquarium.


Safe and sound in his new tank, Route settled in quickly. Dr. Norton will monitor Route's health until he is ready for release. We expect Route will be released in the near future so we will keep you informed.

Kate and I continue our journey through the deep south. Our next stop will be at the South Carolina Aquarium where we will pay a visit to their sea turtle hospital - stay tuned South Carolina gets some pretty large turtles!

- Connie

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Labels: Connie, Georgia Sea Turtle Center, release, Route, transport

The sea turtle transport and release was a success!

All the turtles did very well on the ride to Georgia. We stopped several times to do health checks and spritz them down with salt water. The drive took about 20 hours and went as well as we could have expected. Dr. Terry Norton and his staff at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC) on Jekyll Island were ready and waiting for us when we arrived. First we situated Route into his new tank for additional rehabilitation (I'll blog more on this soon) and then we headed to the beach with the others (at right).



The Staff at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center secured a release zone down at the beach so we could organize the animals and allow the public to watch from a safe distance.



Organizing turtle boxes on the beach in preparation for release


Dr. Terry Norton escorted Bruce to the water's edge.

Bruce and Godzilla (loggerhead sea turtles) were released first. They are both quite large and we wanted to give them plenty of room. Both lumbered down the beach toward the water. Bruce stopped at one point and started heading lateral to the water. Dr. Norton re-oriented him and off he went into the deep blue.


Godzilla approached the surf with great energy.



We released all the Kemp's ridley and green sea turtles at the same time and watched them crawl down to the water. It was truly exciting to see the turtles that came into the NEAq debilitated and in some cases barely alive last fall now racing back to the water!

- Connie

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Labels: Connie, Georgia Sea Turtle Center, Godzilla, release, Route

Transport boxes with turtles waiting to be packed into the van to head south.

Labels: Dory, Godzilla, Kemp's ridley sea turtle, loggerhead, Route

Hi all,

Good news in the Rescue Department, Route and Bruce will be heading south to Georgia on Tuesday April 28! In case you haven't been following our blog, Route (pictured left) is an endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle and Bruce (pictured below) is a loggerhead sea turtle. Both stranded this past fall and have been undergoing treatment in the Aquarium's Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Clinic.

Senior biologist Kate Sardi and I will be driving Route and Bruce along with 8 other turtles, currently at the Woods Hole Science Aquarium and the University of New England, to Jekyll Island, Georgia. Route will be continuing his rehabilitation at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, the others will all be released after our arrival. I'll blog again with some release photos from Georgia so stay tuned for more on our big adventure ...





- Connie

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Labels: Bruce, Kemp's ridley sea turtle, loggerhead, Route, transport

We photographed these two little wonders sitting outside the Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Clinic. They appeared amazed and peaceful while watching the sea turtles swimming around. In particular, their curiosity and awe while watching Route swim around his tank reminded me of why I became a sea turtle biologist in the first place.

-Connie


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Labels: Connie, Route, Sea Turtle Recovery Room

Labels: Adam, Kemp's ridley sea turtle, physical therapy, Route, treadmill

It has been about a month since Route, a Kemps ridley sea turtle has left the aquarium medical center to take up temporary residence in the West Wing Sea Turtle Recovery Ward. There the turtle is continuing rehabilitation as the 2008 cold-stunned sea turtles get closer to release.

We have recently stopped antibiotic therapy on this turtle because we learned that the cultures we sent out on 2/25/09 are negative for any growth. Route is still on an antifungal medication while we await the results of those cultures. Fungal cultures take on average about 2-3 weeks longer than bacterial cultures to get final results back.

Route has started doing physical therapy on its own, using the systems outflow as a sort of water treadmill. The turtle will swim against the current in one place for quite a while in between sleeping and eating. Although most of the left front flipper (LFF) was removed the turtle is starting to use it fairly effectively while turning and accelerating. Route has also gained over 1kg (2.2lbs) in the past month increasing its body weight by approximately 16%. We can really feel the added mass when we bring the turtle out for exams.

Clinically the turtle is doing excellent. Eating and swimming well. The wounds are healing and we are extremely confident that the turtle will be released this summer. As you can see in the picture the large crack on the carapace is healing well.

-Adam
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Labels: Adam, Kemp's ridley sea turtle, physical therapy, Route, Video

This is an update on our Kemp's ridley turtle named Route. You may recall (from this post) that Route came to us in October after being found on a Cape Cod beach. Route had severe wounds, a broken left humerus, and had lost a lot of blood. I am happy to report that Route is doing quite well.

In this photo, you can see Route's injured left flipper (the end is missing).

Here you can see Route's normal right flipper.

This image shows the injury on the underside of his left flipper. This is where the broken humerus had stuck out through the skin. This hole is getting smaller each week, and will likely be covered by scar tissue and skin within a few months.

He is swimming well, eating well, and trying to bite us! These are all good signs. Route is no longer anemic, as his body has regenerated the blood cells that were lost during his original injury. We recently removed the metal bars that were used to stabilize his broken flipper. The bone did not heal perfectly and it has not yet completed healing, but it is healing in a functional position. His other wounds are all healing very well. We are hopeful that Route will be released in summer 2009.

- Dr. Innis

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Labels: Kemp's ridley sea turtle, Route