Turtle Release Stirs Media Frenzy
Reprinted from The Brunswick News
By Anna Ferguson
An iconic figure will wave goodbye to the Golden Isles soon, leaving behind a longtime home to make her way in the world on her own. Dylan, the media darling loggerhead sea turtle, will be released from Jekyll Island’s Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Monday. The release is being hailed as one of the island’s biggest media events, with camera crews and news outlets from across the country, including ABC morning news show “Good Morning America,” converging on the center to cover the release. A decade ago, Dylan was rescued as a hatchling from the Jekyll Island beach and housed at the Tidelands Nature Center. From there, she was sent to Atlanta to be a staple at the Georgia Aquarium when it opened in 2005. She was later transported back home to Jekyll in 2007 when the center opened.
Dylan’s travels throughout Georgia have long been tracked by the public eye, and the turtle has developed a true celebrity persona, said Michelle Kaylor, an aquarist with the sea turtle center. “She’s really a diva,” Kaylor said. “She loves to splash visitors when they aren’t watching her.” Having been with the center since it opened a year ago, Kaylor and her fellow staffers have worked with Dylan to ready her for her inevitable release back to the ocean.
She is now strong, healthy and able to eat and hunt on her own, proving she is ready for the release, Kaylor said. Though the staff admits to being sad to see the turtle go, they are also equally as excited. Releasing her back to the ocean is much like watching a child go off to college, Kaylor said. “It’s bittersweet,” she said. “We’ve been working hard to get her ready, and now she is there. It’s time for her to go.” But, Kaylor adds, this isn’t the last the center will be hearing of Dylan. A tracking satellite placed under the skin will enable the center to keep tabs on her. “We’re hopeful that she’ll come back when she’s ready to nest and lay her own eggs here,” Kaylor said. Dylan’s release will come with the fanfare befitting a shelled superstar and will coincide with the one-year anniversary of the sea turtle center, said Eric Garvey, marketing director for the Jekyll Island Authority. Public events scheduled for the weekend include the release of two other turtles Saturday and a celebration at the center. All the merriment will lead to the release of Dylan on Monday, when a crowd of spectators is expected to flock to Jekyll’s beach to say good-bye and good luck. “A lot of folks have been following Dylan and want to take this opportunity to say good-bye,” Garvey said. “It is a little sad, but mostly, it is a very exciting time.” The sea turtle’s plight has paralleled the turtle center’s rise to the forefront of public attention, Garvey said, as it has gone from a small grass roots organization to a full-fledged facility with a highly praised mission of turtle education, research and rehabilitation. Dylan, too, has brought a spotlight to Jekyll’s enduring goal of environmental preservation and awareness. “We have a very strong mission for conservation, and it is something that we have been striving to carry out for a long time,” Garvey said. “The island is an environmental destination, known for its goals of conservation. Dylan has brought that mission into the public eye and made even more people aware of our conservations efforts.” As Dylan makes her exit from the center, several new turtles will be making their way in, including Joey, another sea turtle from the Georgia Aquarium. Garvey anticipates that Joey will be brought to the center some time in the coming week. BREAKOUT To celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, Sea Turtle Weekend will be held Friday, Saturday and Sunday at various locations on Jekyll Island. Crafts, games and activities will be held at the center from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday. Dylan’s release will be 8:30 a.m. Monday, departing from the island on the beach behind the convention center. Attendees are asked to arrive early. For more information, call 635-4444 or visit www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org.
Tags: Dylan the Sea Turtle, sea turtles, The Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island
