On Wednesday, July 30, The Trust Family Foundation Shark and Ray Touch Tank will be closed until 1:00 p.m. for routine animal care.
PRESS RELEASE
New England Aquarium returns seven more rehabilitated sea turtles to waters off Cape Cod
Staff, volunteers, and interns gather on West Dennis Beach for the fourth release
BOSTON, MASS. (July 22, 2025) – Seven more rehabilitated sea turtles are back in the ocean waters off Cape Cod following the New England Aquarium’s fourth release event of the season.
**PHOTOS AND VIDEO AVAILABLE HERE, WITH CREDIT TO THE NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM**
Staff, volunteers, and interns from the Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy, MA, gathered on West Dennis Beach early Tuesday morning to send off the long-term sea turtle patients. The six Kemp’s ridley and one green sea turtle spent about seven months receiving care for life-threatening, hypothermia-related conditions after becoming “cold-stunned” and stranding on the shores of Cape Cod last year. Among the group of turtles was “Hercules,” a critically endangered Kemp’s ridley, who arrived at the Aquarium with sepsis and severe gastrointestinal disease. After months of aggressive treatment including tube feeding, antibiotics, and steroids, the turtle fully recovered and returned to Nantucket Sound as bystanders cheered.
From November to January, staff and volunteers with Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary walk the beaches along Cape Cod Bay searching for hypothermic turtles to rescue and transport to the Aquarium’s Quincy facility for medical care. The Aquarium treated 518 live sea turtles this past cold-stunning season. As the release season in Massachusetts winds down, the Aquarium continues to care for five remaining turtle patients after returning 37 turtles to Nantucket Sound this summer.
The turtles released on Tuesday, with Greek mythology names bestowed by the Aquarium team, included:
- “Artemis” (#234) – Green sea turtle
- Stranded Nov. 29, 2024, in Eastham, MA
- “Iris” (#608) – Kemp’s ridley sea turtle
- Stranded Dec. 6, 2024, in Wellfleet, MA
- “Hercules” (#641) – Kemp’s ridley sea turtle
- Stranded Dec. 6, 2024, in Truro, MA
- “Phoenix” (#685) – Kemp’s ridley sea turtle
- Stranded Dec. 6, 2024, in Brewster, MA
- “Hera” (#696) – Kemp’s ridley sea turtle
- Stranded Dec. 6, 2024, in Brewster, MA
- “Asclepius” (#761) – Kemp’s ridley sea turtle
- Stranded Dec. 7, 2024, in Eastham, MA
- “Odysseus” (#789) – Kemp’s ridley sea turtle
- Stranded Dec. 9, 2024, in Truro, MA
MEDIA CONTACT: Pam Bechtold Snyder—617-686-5068; psnyder@neaq.org