8/19/13

Sea Turtles Vacation in Martha’s Vineyard

Martha’s Vineyard is a great place to visit this time of year. A picturesque summer time jewel nestled just offshore of Cape Cod, “The Vineyard” is home to countless boutiques, restaurants, and enough ice cream shops to satisfy all tastes. Martha’s Vineyard is also known for its beautiful shoreline and beaches. This past Tuesday, the New England Aquarium Rescue team, along with a handful of dedicated volunteers and a long list of special guests, paid a visit to The Trustees of Reservations Long Point Wildlife Refuge for a unique occasion.

The occasion: RELEASE TWO CRITICALLY ENDANGERED SEA TURTLES BACK INTO THE WILD!

 

  

The turtles being released were two Kemp’s ridley sea turtles; Frank Hardy (# 164) and Benton Wesley (#197). These turtles cold-stunned last winter, were rehabilitated at our Quincy animal care center, and now are ready for the waters of the Atlantic!







There was a great number of people and visitors at the release site, all eager to see these two turtles released back into the wild.Volunteers Maury Weinrobe and Mike O’Neill show off these stunning turtles to the crowd, and take a special moment to share these turtles with the Camp Jabberwocky folks.



There was a great feeling of excitement in the air, and everyone was curious about the antennas on their shells. If you haven’t noticed from the pictures, these two turtles were equipped with satellite tags! We are very interested in where the turtles go once they are released, and their progress can be tracked at www.seaturtle.org. Follow the link "Track a sea turtle" and search for New England Aquarium.











With the help of the Trustees of Reservations and Camp Jabberwocky, the Rescue team was able to release Frank Hardy( # 164) and Benton Wesley (#197) back into the wild. Long Point Wildlife Refuge provided a perfect backdrop and location to kickoff their journey homeward.



So a BIG THANKS goes out to the Trustees of Reservations for providing a great release site. BIG THANKS also to Camp Jabberwocky for bringing out all their summertime campers. It was great fun having everyone out, and we hope you enjoyed it as much as all of us!

Kurt

4 comments:

  1. I can only imagine how much work went into saving these two guys. I wonder how a trapped and dying turtle thinks about getting a second chance..."well done" doesn't really express the feeling, but it's the best I can come up with right now.

    What a special opportunity to be able to watch these animals make it back to their environment!

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  2. I, as a volunteer was able to get #164 to take food for bthe first time, that has always been the biggest thrill in the 24 years serving up food for seals, cetaceans & turtles!!!! H3

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  3. I am so thrilled to see the wheelchairs on the beach!! My Mom may have been the first benefit of the kindness of R&R in that kind of situation, she had a stroke back in 1993, and many of R&R gave her access to seeing things behind the scenes that made her feel so special, she saw seal pups being fed, by me, her daughter.... & saw sea turtles being released on Cape Cod w/ a front row view, just like in these pictures... and had gone on a whale watch boat, being picked up in her wheelchair by the staff on the boat & treated like a queen on board. All of the Rescue/Rehab. Dept. are an amazing group of people, they see the most painful things, the happiest things, you have to be a special kind of person.
    T.R.

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  4. Sea turtles are awesome! I like that these ones are being released back into the wild where they belong! My boyfriend and I just booked a Martha's Vineyard rental for our fall vacation. We will be heading up in a few weeks. Who knows, maybe we'll run into one of these guys!

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