Sea Turtle Hospitals and Programs

It occurred to me that some of you might like to know more about sea turtles than the cursory information from my last post and last summer’s post on the subject. Sadly (but perhaps happily for the world of sea creatures), I am not a marine biologist. In an attempt to appear as respectable parents, however, LCB and I have visited a sea turtle hospital with the small people and do know a bit about some of the organizations in the Carolinas that seek to protect the sea turtle.

There are two sea turtle hospitals in the Carolinas that I’m familiar with, one in North Carolina and one in South Carolina. Both hospitals take in sea turtles that are sick or injured and attempt to nurse them back to health so that they can return to the ocean again. Both hospitals allow visitors on a limited basis. The South Carolina Sea Turtle Hospital is part of the South Carolina Aquarium, located in Charleston. If you visit the aquarium, for an additional fee you can also tour the hospital.

I haven’t visited the South Carolina Sea Turtle Hospital yet, but I have visited the sea turtle hospital in North Carolina. The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center is located on an island called Topsail Island, located south of the Outer Banks. The hospital is small, the size of a small cottage really, and is run entirely by volunteers. It is popular, however; the day we visited we stood in line for probably an hour before starting our tour. Inside the hospital, several blue pools each hold a turtle. A volunteer stands at each pool and talks about the turtle in the pool, describing where and how it was found, what species of turtle it is (Loggerhead, Kemp’s Ridley, Green Turtle, etc.), what stage of rehabilitation it is in, and what its habits and diet are.

The tour we took was short, maybe 10 minutes in length, but what I loved about it was how close we could get to the turtles. I’ve seen them in aquariums before, behind the glass, but here, you could stand right beside the open pools and look down into the water. If it had been allowed and advisable (it’s not), you could easily touch the turtles. The first turtle we saw sat nearly motionless at the bottom of the tank, but the ones after him swam around, moving to the surface of the water and even peeking their heads above it from time to time. I apologize for my pictures below; the lighting inside was rather tricky, flashes weren’t allowed, and I was trying to absorb a great deal of information the volunteers gave us in a short time period. But they do give you a little idea of what I’m describing.

They were just…so close. There’s nothing removed or museum-like about it. You stand in the middle of what is very much a working sea turtle hospital. Reportedly too, they are building a new museum many, many times the size of the current one, which will greatly increase the help they can offer to sea turtles in addition to expanding their visiting hours and decreasing wait time.

Throughout the Carolinas, there are many organizations dedicated to helping sick turtles and protecting them from extinction by increasing the success odds of the baby hatchlings that are born on our islands. I’ve included a list of just a few of the North and South Carolina organizations with links, in case you are interested in learning more. If you live here or will be vacationing here, for instance, besides touring one of the hospitals, many of the organizations below offer various educational opportunities, like morning or evening turtle walks to look for nests and tracks. They’re worth checking out.

The South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Hospital

The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center

Network for Endangered Sea Turtles, Outer Banks

Bald Head Island Conservancy

Wrightsville Beach Sea Turtle Project

Holden Beach Turtle Watch Program

North Myrtle Beach Sea Turtle Patrol

South Carolina Marine Turtle Conservation Program

Kiawah Island Turtle Patrol Program

Fripp Island Turtle Nest Protection Program