Though we knew much of what was done there, we got it in detail and, as always, learned a lot. Our tour guide was a very smart and capable turtle care specialist. We had seen these temperature controlled bins in use before. They're used for swimming and taking a quick first look at incoming patients.
This is where the staff takes the most needy patients first, for examination and medicine, should it be deemed necessary.
The main room holds large tanks, occupied by Loggerheads and Kemp's Ridleys.
(I got scolded by our tour guide for peeking in at a hungry Loggerhead... I was supposed to wait. But he was flippering at me!)
The people on the tour were told of particular turtles that they had found or brought in, what their status was. Andrea's turtle (#245 from our November 26th, 2017 post) is now at the Sea Turtle Recovery in New Jersey. "My" turtle, #244, was dead. Only "my" turtle had died, everybody else had their beautiful success stories. (I was pretty sure #244 was dead on the beach... I was shocked when they said it had lived long enough to be transferred to the hospital in the first place.) It was to prove a point that despite their hard work, they still lose some.
Or maybe she was pissed that I peeked at the Loggerhead. But loooook!
Soon, we all got to go look into the tubs while the staff of volunteers fed the turtles and cleaned the tanks.
Next, we went back into the inner sanctum, a spot we'd never seen, where X-rays and further examination is done. Here are some X-rays, the first of a Loggerhead and the second of a Kemp's with pneumonia. (They told us the Loggerheads often poop during X-rays... the more you know!)
Our last stop was a peek into a borrowed pool where more turtles were being kept, including the two Green Turtles in house. The Greens were not only beautiful but hilarious... they knew humans standing there meant food and they gave us all kinds of attention. #194 is a Green and #089 was the most eager Kemp's of the dozen or so in this pool.
Green scuffle!
The Greens never went far, they always came right back to where we stood, often colliding with other turtles.
Cute little Kemp's #089...
A Kemp's/ Green tag team... hey! That's #194 again!
The tour was over but we were allowed to look at the main tanks some more. Obviously, I took every possible moment to do just that. Admittedly, my photos are all pretty crappy but after having seen so many dead turtles during the stranding season, just seeing them alive was a huge deal. By now, after lunch, most of them were resting near the bottom of their tanks.
The last thing I got to see was this little Kemp's waving to me from a far tank...
That was a very rewarding morning. Tears? You bet.
The next day, Sunday the 4th, we'd planned to do some birding, but the rain started and we cut our hike very short. I added two species and got this shot of a Red-tailed Hawk munching on some lunch, then broke my camera.
Oh well, you can't win 'em all!
Terrific photos, Mike. Thank you for sharing the experience!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Gamp!
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