CHARLOTTE OBSERVER (N Carolina) 20 June 06 Aquarium doubles as turtle hospital (Joey Holleman)
The sum is greater than the parts. Its shell covered in algae and coral, its body emaciated, St. Simon arrived at the S.C. Aquarium last August looking closer to dead than alive.
Luckily, St. Simon arrived at the perfect place for an ailing loggerhead. In its three years of operation, the aquarium's basement turtle hospital has evolved from a makeshift operation into a lifesaver.
'It's a godsend,' said Sally Murphy, who heads the S.C. Department of Natural Resources' sea turtle efforts.
More than 20 sick or injured turtles have been nursed back to health at the facility and returned to their Atlantic Ocean home.
When the aquarium opened on the banks of Charleston harbor in 2000, nobody envisioned the facility would serve as a sea turtle emergency room. But the experts at the aquarium quickly built relationships with state wildlife officials.
When an emaciated turtle washed up in the Beaufort River in Port Royal that summer, state officials called the aquarium.
'They said, `We have a sick sea turtle. Are you interested in getting involved?' ' recalled Kelly Thorvalson, who coordinates the aquarium's Turtle Rescue Program. 'We said, `Sure.' It fit perfectly with the vision of the aquarium.'
Before the aquarium opened its doors to the sick turtles, rescuers had to rush ailing turtles that showed up on state beaches to the N.C. Aquarium near Wilmington or to Marineland or Sea World in Florida.
'Usually, they died on the way,' Murphy said. 'That took several hours. We can get them to the aquarium in 30 minutes.'
The aquarium treated two turtles in each of its first two years, using a separate holding facility a few blocks from the main structure. When the numbers started to rise in 2003, aquarium officials decided to convert the basement into a turtle hospital.
The facility has grown to include 10 holding tanks.
The rescue program and hospital have been cobbled together with grant money and donated equipment. Thorvalson manages the hospital in addition to her duties caring for saltwater fish at the aquarium. Volunteers often handle the feeding and tank cleaning chores.
'The program relies on our partners, DNR, the local vets,' aquarium president Kevin Mills said. 'The sum is greater than the parts.'
The sea turtles, in most cases loggerheads, are fighters. They won't beach until they're near death, Thorvalson said. Many of the turtles hustled to the aquarium are declared dead on arrival.
Those that are alive often are malnourished, loaded with internal parasites. Under the guidance of consulting veterinarian Tom Sheridan, the aquarium staff treats the turtles with intravenous fluids, antibiotics, vitamins and plenty of loving care.
St. Simon, so named because it was found on St. Simons Island in Georgia, arrived last August looking horrible and weighing just 80 pounds. Ten months later, the loggerhead (it's difficult to determine its gender until it reaches maturity) weighs 115 pounds. With a perfectly clean, brownish-red shell and a blocky head, St. Simon could win a turtle beauty contest these days.
Often, what causes a turtle's emaciation can't be pinpointed. In the case of St. Simon, however, volunteers discovered it would ignore food placed to its left. An ultrasound revealed a tumor behind the left eye.
Another ultrasound is planned to help determine whether doctors should risk an operation to remove the tumor, Thorvalson said.
St. Simon might not be able to survive in the wild without properly focusing eyes. When a live blue crab is put in the tank, the loggerhead needs hours to find and eat it.
In the meantime, St. Simon is living an easy life in one of the hospital tanks. It was the only patient most of the winter before a malnourished sub-adult arrived June 11 from Lighthouse Island at the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge.
Late spring and summer, when female sea turtles return to lay eggs in the dunes, are the busy periods for the beaching of sick turtles. St. Simon is the exception to the rule; most stay in the hospital only a few months before being released.
'They're just these majestic creatures,' said Thorvalson. 'To be able to work with them and release them into the wild is an amazing thing.'
Aquarium doubles as turtle hospital