Day 6 - Another Unforgettable Day of Sea Turtles

Today was an average morning of turtle care - feeding, tank cleaning, medical treatments, and bathing. The exercise pool, larger than the normal tanks, was lively with turtles enjoying the open space. There the turtles can swim in pairs and receive some social interaction, which is an important skill to maintain for successful release and integration into wild sea turtle populations.

The group in the sick bay cleaned and bathed all of the room's turtles, but a notable mention is October, the hospital's first surgery patient. She is very particular about who treats her injuries and is very conscious of all the people in the room. While her anxiety has made treatment difficult on occasion, her personality and capability to recognize the volunteers is very interesting. She is a prime example of how each of these sea turtles is a unique individual with different traits and needs, even with a very small brain (only a few centimeters in diameter!).

After thoroughly cleaning the interior of the building, we also helped to spruce up the outside of the building for the hospital's upcoming opening to the public. This largely involved clearing the flowerbeds and gravel parking lot of weeds.

We ate a quick lunch outside the hospital before driving to University of North Carolina Wilmington. There, we had the amazing opportunity to witness a necropsy on two sea turtles performed by biologist Sarah Finn. We got a hands-on look at sea turtle anatomy and were fascinated by its uniqueness and the striking similarities to our own internal structure. It was very interesting to see and feel the internal organs of the turtles. The goal of the necropsy was to discover the cause of these turtles' deaths to identify possible threats to other turtles, but unfortunately there were no obvious signs of injury, gastrointestinal blockage, or parasites. It is likely that one or both of the turtles was cold stunned, but we did not find definitive evidence. It is not uncommon for the cause of death to be unclear even after a necropsy. This was an awesome experience that we would not have been able to have without this trip!

We enjoyed a dinner of hamburgers cooked by Pat and David once we got home, then we celebrated Nicole's birthday with surprise cheesecake!