On the 12th Day of Christmas, at the G-S-T-C,
12 Terrapin Hatchlings
Number 11 the Loggerhead
10 Hours of Treatments
9 School Groups
8 Daily Programs
7 Cold-Stunned Turtles
6 X-Rays
5 TERRAPIN ALES!!!!
4 Turtle Tales
3 Fish Milkshakes
2 Dog Food Meatballs
And a Fish stuffed with Vitamins
Happy Holidays!
~Alicia Marin, Senior Educator
~Sarah Mathias, Educator
~Stefanie Ouellette, Education and Field Coordinator
What does a sea turtle center get for Christmas? Sea turtles of course!!
The GSTC was fortunate enough to recieve seven long awaited turtles from Boston and one surprise turtle from Florida this past week.
Instead of arriving with Santa and his reindeer Seven juvenile sea turtles were flown in style from the New England Aquarium to the center by Mike Mulligan of Annapolis, MD. Five Kemp’s Ridley and 2 Green sea turtles had found themselves stuck in the cold water off Massachusetts and ended up “cold stunned” which is similar to turtle hypothermia. They stranded on the beaches and were lucky enough to be picked up by the rescue team from New England Aquarium.
The staff there kept them safe and warm and started exceptional treatment to get these guys on their road to recovery. Once they were strong enough to make the flight they were transferred here to the center where they are recieving medical care under the watchful eye of Dr. Norton.
So far, all seven are settling in to their new southern home very well, spending their days swimming, napping and eating. They will continue to be treated for things such as frostbite lesions, pnuemonia, and being thin throughout the winter and will hopefully be able to be released this summer.
The center also recieved a surprise turtle this week! Vida, spanish for life, a loggerhead was found on the beach in St. Augustine and was brought to the center. After 24 hours in dry dock he was placed in some shallow fresh water to help him get rehydrated. Since then we have slowly been increasing his salinity. He is still pretty weak and isn’t eating on his own. He is being tube fed twice a day, the same tasty shakes that Griffin gets. After he gets a bit stronger the staff will perform further diagnostics.
The holidays have certainly been happy here!
~ Jeannie Miller Aquarist
On behalf of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center Staff and Volunteers…
Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy holiday SEA-son!
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center was visited by a very special guest last Saturday, December 15, 2007… SANTA CLAUS!!! We know how busy he is making that list and checking it twice, and felt honored that he could make it! Santa was present at the GSTC from 1 to 6pm, where he posed for pictures, handed out toy turtles to all visitors and listened as children whispered their Christmas wishes…children of ALL ages that is!
Guests were also invited to shell-a-brate the holiday season by making a recycled sea turtle ornament to take home and put on their Christmas tree or place on ours. Before heading back to the North Pole, Santa visited with our sick patients in the Rehabilitation Pavilion! A special thanks to Beth Burnsed (Jekyll Island Events, Marketing Coordinator), Cade Stepp (Roads, Beaches and Trails Supervisor), GSTC staff and volunteers, and to Mr. Kris Kringle himself, for making this event a huge success!
Only 4 shopping days left to Christmas! Are you still looking for that perfect gift for that special someone? The Georgia Sea Turtle Center has just the thing! The GSTC now offers a number of different options that may suit your holiday shopping needs; Become a Member, Purchase a Brick, Adopt a Turtle, or make a donation in your special someone’s name! All of these options make excellent gifts that “give back.” For more information please visit our website or call (912) 635-4444.
Happy Holidays!
~Alicia Marin, Senior Educator
As some of you probably remember we have been looking for a ride to the Gulf Stream for our loggerhead hatchling Amelia. Our green sea turtle hatchling, Sage, was not gaining weight as well as we had hoped and we had decided to keep him. We began working with local charter captains and private boat owners as well as the Coast Guard to see if we could get Amelia out before the water temperature dropped to low.
Sage must have found out what was happening and not wanted Amelia to have all the fun, because he turned around rather rapidly and started packing on the grams. He was quickly deemed releasable and was ready to go!
After several weeks and a huge amount of effort by Becky Shortland with the Gray’s Reef Marine Sanctuary, LCDR Nancy Whitt, LCDR Eric King and LT. J.G. Smith of US Coast Guard sectors Charleston and Mayport and Captain Raymond Sweatte and the crew of the R/V Savannah out of Skidaway we found them a ride, and it couldn’t have gotten much better for these two lucky little hatchlings.
On December 10th Sage, Amelia and a myself were escorted in first class style offshore to the release point upon the 92 foot research vessel the Savannah out of the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography. After a great night of learning about the benthic sampling that was occuring, we let Sage and Amelia go at approximately 10:00am on Tuesday the 11th.
Both turtles did great! Amelia immediately went into camoflouge mode and tucked her flippers up against her shell. Sage, however, tried to swim back into the bucket and then swam alongside the boat for several minutes before going off to explore his new world!
The staff and volunteers at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center would like to extend a GIANT thank you to all the people that are making this release such a “sailing” success! 
~Jeannie Miller Aquarist
After her release she quickly swam away from shore and has been traveling primarily eastward along the Florida panhandle (see map below). You can follow her progress at: http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/?tag_id=80060
The sea turtle session was sponsored by the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST). This organization has Country Coordinators in more than 40 Caribbean States and territories and has linked scientists, conservationists, resource managers, resource users, policy-makers, industry groups, educators, veterinary professionals, and other stakeholders in a collaborative effort to develop a unified management framework, and to promote a regional capacity to design and implement scientifically sound sea turtle management programs (K. Eckert, 2006).
Among the capacity building initiatives is WIDECAST’s regional Sea Turtle Trauma Response Corps (STTRC). The aim of the STTRC is to strengthen and coordinate the efforts of people throughout the Wider Caribbean Region to respond to sea turtles in crisis, whether at sea or stranded along shoreline. The initiative includes the development of a variety of standard guidelines and field procedures manuals, as well as standardized reporting forms and database management software.
In addition to peer-reviewed guidelines, Internet-based resources, information management software, and other technical products, the STTRC provides regular training and internship opportunities for field staff and volunteers, natural resource managers, veterinarians, and rehabilitators. Recently a manual was developed entitled Marine Turtle Trauma Response Procedures: A field Guide, 2006, http://www.widecast.og/trauma). Dr. Norton’s first presentation was an overview of the field guide contents and how Caribbean veterinarians can be involved in first response initiatives for stranded sea turtles. Other presentations by Dr. Norton included “Pertinent Anesthesia and Surgery in Sea Turtles”, “Necropsy Techniques in Sea Turtles”, and “Managing a Sea Turtle Mass Mortality Event”. Other speakers and topics presented included “Sea Turtle Strandings in Barbados” by Barry Kruger and Gus Reader, “Sea Turtle Trauma Response Corps An Overview” by Kimberley Stewart, “Rehabilitation of Sea Turtles” and “Fibropapillomatosis in Sea Turtles” by Charles Manire.
Another objective of the visit was to evaluate some green turtles that have been habituated to hand feeding pieces of fish to attract tourists. Unfortunately, the turtles have become obese. Some solutions and compromises were discussed with local sea turtle conservationists such as feeding more appropriate vegetarian treats such as squash. Future trips may involve evaluating the health status of the habituated turtles and their wild counterparts that are feeding predominantly on sea grasses.
Greetings from the GSTC! Last Saturday (Dec 1) was the annual Brunswick Christmas Parade and once again, the GSTC was featured by JIA, as the main feature of the float. We were proud and honored at this privilege, and worked hard to make it the best float ever!
The GSTC Education Staff, Dr. Bill Irwin (GSTC Director) and Beth Burnsed (JIA Events/Marketing Coordinator) dressed in scrubs, ready for ’surgery’ on the giant papermache sea turtle!
The Christmas tree was decorated with plush turtles and ‘elves’ walked (and sometimes ran!) alongside the float handing out candy to all the spectators as we traveled along the streets of downtown Brunswick!
It was a lot of hard work getting that float ready, but we are proud to say our float ROCKED and we won 2ND PLACE in the Civic Division!!!
Thanks to all that helped make this year’s float a winner!! You’re constant support and dedication is what keeps us ‘afloat’!
Happy Holidays!
Stefanie Ouellette
Education and Field Coordinator