Caton

Caton and Talbot, 2 loggerhead sea turtles, will be released on Monday December 28, 2009 from the Cape Canaveral National Sea Shore. The water temperatures are too cold in Georgia for a release this time of year; however, in the coastal waters of Cape Canaveral the temperatures are still safe and suitable for a release. The release site will occur around 12pm on a beach on the north end of Cape Canaveral Sea Seashore, on the south end of the Volusia side. Both turtles are doing great and ready to go to their ocean home.

Talbot

There have been 200 sea turtles that have stranded along the New England coast since Mid-October and 60 turtles are being housed in just a few facilities. These were all cold-stunned cases. Over the past 2 weeks North Carolina has seen numerous cold-stunned turtles and all of their facilities are filled to capacity. Releasing Caton and Talbot will free up some much needed space at the GSTC to make room for 4 green turtles, a kemps and a loggerhead, which will arrive on Tues of next week.

We apologize for the short notice and tricky timing within the holiday season. As will all releases, this release is open to the public and we hope to see you there! Thank you for your understanding and support with this situation.

~Terry M. Norton, DVM, Director and Veterinarian

Follow this link to the video highlight of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on CNN!

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2009/02/21/wolf.sea.turtle.rescue.cnn

The segment aired this morning, February 21, and will be featured again this evening.

Pumpkin and Varun made their first television debut and captured the hearts of thousands, we’re certain! Great job to Dr. Terry Norton and Erika Kemler who were both highlighted in the clip.  

Did you have the chance to see it first-hand? Send us your thoughts!

~Kelly O’Keefe, Educator

Macaroni is usually the first patient of the day to be treated. If you come at 11:00 when the talking treatments program begins, you will mostly likely see a funny, soft-shelled turtle sitting on the treatment table with a towel draped over his face. This is Macaroni. He is a pugnacious Florida soft shell turtle that was found on St. Simons Island. He was hit by a car and brought into a local veterinarian who called us. Unfortunately for Macaroni, he had his right rear leg barely attached to his body! The Georgia Sea Turtle Center’s veterinarian, Dr. Terry Norton, did an emergency amputation surgery that night! The turtle has since then been recovering with a few bumps in the road. He is eating on his own, but in order to get him to eat we must soak him only half way in water, keeping his rear half from getting wet. Macaroni has an infection in the amputation site that caused us to treat his wound as an open wound for the time being and he may need to have the femur of the leg removed in the near future! If you are interested in learning more about Macaroni, please come stop by the sea turtle center! He does usually get his treatment first thing in the morning (around 11:00 o’clock), but because this is a hospital all times are subject to change! We’ll keep you updated on Macaroni’s progress!