Sea Turtle Hospital News

First there were 109, then 26 went home so we had 83.

A week later another 19 turtles left for the deep blue sea.

So then we had, well, we still have a lot of turtles. And now, thanks to Covid-19, a lot of our patients who had been blessed by Dr. Harms for release are stuck with us until who knows when. At least we’re now down to only three rooms full of pretty mad turtles who literally missed the boat.

Anyway, that last release all had to happen very quickly because Capt. Paul at Aquatic Safaris was being ordered to shut down his dive business due to the virus. We went into hyper drive getting all the critters packed up loaded up and off to his boat before the rules, and the weather changed.

This time two of our larger loggerheads “Monroe” and “CiCi” made the cut. We almost had to get Monroe out before he decided to chew his way through his tank and head to the beach on his own. That guy has been ready to boogie for months; maybe he knows the ladies are coming soon?

We were both sad and happy to see CiCi leave, she was a real sweetheart.

On the other hand, the entire staff cheered when “Honey Bee” was plucked from her tank and headed out the door. You may remember her story from a while ago; such a demanding and high-maintenance turtle. There is a video of her release, and a lot of pictures and several other videos of our other parolees on our Facebook page. It’s happy stuff that might take your mind off of things like how long it will be until your next haircut.

Back at the ranch we continue to care for the ones left behind. It was interesting to see their reactions when the staff first started wearing masks. It was almost as if we were total strangers to them, especially “Snooki” Queen of Sea Turtle Bay who is very aware of anything and everything going on in her domain. They’re used to our new look by now but I think I’ve heard some snickering behind our backs.

We are so appreciative and thankful to have a dedicated group of volunteers who continue to show up, don gloves and masks and put their heads down to go to work to make sure these critters continue to receive the care they need until we can get them back home.

Obviously we are closed for the duration of this pandemic. Thanks to all of you who continue to support our hospital and our turtles. Flipper hugs, and we’ll see you on the other side, whenever that is.