In 2006, a debilitated loggerhead was rescued in Christmas Creek near Cumberland Island, GA. Because there was no treatment facility for sea turtles in Georgia at that time, the turtle was transported to Sea World Orlando for care. Initially the prognosis was not good but surprisingly the turtle responded well to treatments and recovered quickly; thus, the staff at Sea World named him “Golden Boy.”

Golden Boy is now healthy and active and is nearly ready for release back into Georgia waters. Like Dylan, this turtle has been hand fed for a long time so we will make sure that he can locate and capture live prey items before he is released (probably sometime this summer).

We’re all very busy at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center preparing for our Grand Opening Celebration next Saturday (June 16). We’ll try to keep you posted on the status of our patients and other happenings here as much as possible.

Dr. Bill Irwin, Director

We’ve been so busy being opened these past two weekends that I haven’t had time to write any updates. Nick’s condition is improving daily and Dylan doing well but I have some sad news today about our very first patient.

As you know, “Georgia” came to us on Mother’s Day with very severe injuries cased by a small boat outboard engine. She had 5 deep propeller lacerations and many broken bones. We treated the wounds daily, gave her fluids, and provided medications to fight infection, reduce inflammation and relive pain, but Georgia’s general health declined rapidly.

On the evening of May 31 we took Georgia to a local imaging facility for a CT scan (photo 1). An expert animal radiologist read the scans the next day and reported what we most feared. The wound to Georgia’s head caused several fractures to her skull and penetrated her brain resulting in untreatable damage and infection. Additionally, the wounds to her carapace and shoulder continued into her body cavity causing internal complications that were also untreatable. As it was clear that our treatments could only prolong her inevitable death, we chose to humanely euthanize her right away in the midst of the tropical storm on Saturday, June 2.

Though the GSTC team and the entire Jekyll Island family is saddened by the loss of our first patient, Georgia’s time with us was very valuable in many ways. First and foremost, Georgia was an ambassador for her species; she helped our visitors and those who followed her story in the press and online learn about the plight of sea turtles and other marine animals. She helped train our staff to work together and to treat many of the types of injuries that we are likely to encounter in the future. She helped the GSTC establish a relationship with a local imaging facility and create fast information transfer protocols with experts around the country that will reduce diagnostic times for future patients. What we learn through her necropsy (being conducted today), we may learn things that will help engineers design more “animal friendly” boat engines. And, of course, Georgia helped us announce to the world that there is now a place on Jekyll Island where injured and ill turtles can be brought for treatment and care. Though we know we will not be able to save them all, we are dedicated to helping the ones we can.

Dr. Bill Irwin, Director