A 2-year-old green sea turtle named Terra, rescued at the Pompano Beach fishing pier on April 22, was injured by fishing hooks stuck in her flipper and her esophagus. A fellow turtle, a hawksbill named Little Sadie who is just a few months old, washed ashore in Miami on April 29 and was found to have eaten plastic.
These two youngsters are among the first arrivals at the newly permitted rehabilitation center operated by The Coastal Stewards, a nonprofit working out of the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton.
The public will get their first views of the endangered reptiles on Thursday, May 9, when The Coastal Stewards starts allowing visitors to see them up close. The pair are in tanks closely monitored by the organization’s veterinary team, which is offering medication and food before the gentle creatures can be released back into the ocean.
“We are getting ready to welcome the public back,” said John Holloway, president and CEO of The Coastal Stewards. “We are planning extensive rehab and collaborative work (with other organizations), not only on sea turtles, but also manatees and cetaceans,” which are marine mammals such as dolphins.
The rescue program had been on hiatus since last year, when all turtles were ordered removed from Gumbo Limbo amid personnel turmoil and accusations of a toxic workplace. The city of Boca Raton decided to get out of the business of turtle rehab, shifting the responsibility to the nonprofit.
Eight green turtles and one loggerhead were shipped to Zoo Miami, Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach and the Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center in Stuart. Two of the turtles, Morgan and Cane, had been permanent residents of Gumbo Limbo because they were considered to be unable to survive in the ocean.
The Stewards inked an agreement with the city in April 2023, and say they received a new Marine Turtle Permit from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission las month, allowing them to rescue injured turtles and rehabilitate them until they are ready for release.
Morgan, the green sea turtle that first came to Gumbo Limbo after being rescued in 2014, had been relocated to the Loggerhead Marinelife Center during the upheaval, but has since returned to Gumbo Limbo. Cane remains at the Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center in Stuart.
Sea turtle season is about to begin in South Florida, and Coastal Stewards veterinarian Dr. Shelby Loos expects an abundance of injured turtles to make their way to Gumbo Limbo. The site has 10 tanks, three for medium to large creatures and the rest for juvenile hatchlings.
Green sea turtles like Terra are on the endangered species list, while hawksbills such as Little Sadie are considered “critically endangered,” which means they face a high risk of extinction. They are menaced by illegal harvesting, ocean pollution, climate change, coastal development and injuries from fishing gear and boat strikes.
South Florida Sun Sentinel writer David Fleshler contributed to this report.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Meet the new sea turtles at Gumbo Limbo and veterinarian Dr. Shelby Loos
WHEN: 12:30-4 p.m. Thursday, May 9. Afterward, hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays and noon-4 p.m. Mondays.
WHERE: Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, 1801 N. Ocean Blvd., Boca Raton
COST: $5 suggested donation for entry to Gumbo Limbo; a separate donation is encouraged to Coastal Stewards
INFORMATION: 561-544-8605; thecoastalstewards.org
