Bring Your Hatchlings to Sea Turtle Camp This Summer
Thursday, April 1st, 2010
Posts Tagged ‘ Georgia Sea Turtle Center ’
BRRR… COLD WATERS BRING TURTLE PATIENTS TO THE GEORGIA SEA TURTLE CENTER
Thursday, April 1st, 2010
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center is a remarkable place. In addition to its leading-edge research and educational programs, they are actively involved in the rehabilitation of endangered sea turtles.
Due to the prolonged cold weather along the Eastern seaboard this winter, many of the new arrivals are here because of “cold-stunning.” The cold snap affected thousands of turtles, from New England to Florida, and treatment facilities for turtles are scarce. Despite having more turtles in the hospital than ever, the Georgia Sea Turtle Center felt the need to assist. Working with other agencies and organizations, they are now treating over two dozen sea turtles with various injuries or illnesses, many of which are new cold-stunned patients. Cold-stunning is similar to hypothermia in humans and occurs when the ectothermic (cold-blooded) sea turtles are exposed to water temperatures below 50 degrees. They become lethargic, unable to eat, and their immune systems become compromised which can have negative implications several months later such as pneumonia and bone infection. Rehabilitating cold-stunned sea turtles can be very effective but it is time-consuming and costly. The turtles must be re-warmed slowly, provided fluids, have blood levels monitored, and given antibiotics.
Depending on the severity of the cold-stunning and the turtle’s overall health, they may be able to be released relatively soon after treatment. Other times, they will require months of rehabilitation. While visiting Jekyll Island, be sure to visit the Georgia Sea Turtle Center where you can learn about sea turtles in the exhibit gallery, hear educational presentations, observe treatments and visit our current patients in the rehabilitation pavilion. Your visit will warm the hearts of the “cold-stunned” turtles helping them on their road to recovery.
visit the Georgia Sea Turtle Center
214 Stable Road, Jekyll Island or go online:
georgiaseaturtlecenter.org
Threatened Loggerhead Sea Turtle Goes Endangered
Saturday, March 13th, 2010by Pen Men At Work on ThaindianNews.com
Mar 12 (Pen Men at Work): The Georgian Loggerhead turtle has been lifted into the list from ‘Threatened’ to ‘Endangered’ species. After Georgia listed it as endangered a few times back, this time it’s the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service who have jointly tagged this turtle as so.
According to Kris Williams, who has been studying them on Wassaw Island since a dozen years, the Loggerhead has declain its population drastically in last seven to nine years and the beaches need to get more protection for this species. A Florida study also mentions that surfers and relax boaters also strike in 30 percent of loggerhead crisis.
Williams, who is also the director of the Caretta Research Project adds that the Loggerhead is an indicator species which provides information about human encroachment into the seas. While as Mark Dodd, coordinator of the Georgia sea turtle project, provides the warning indication of human activities in disrupting the smooth ecology of oceans.
With only 997 loggerhead nests counted on Georgia beaches in the last year, the decline of sea turtle population is clearly visible, says the Turtle Island Restoration Network. While the Center for Biological Diversity is working on the restriction bill for hunters and egg collectors of the developing country’s ocean, it has also filled a petition to save this particular species in last 2007.
Loggerheads live a long life of more than 50 years, and travel thousands of miles through the ocean to give birth.
More at : Threaten Loggerhead goes endangered http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/sci-tech/threaten-loggerhead-goes-endangered_100334025.html#ixzz0i5kQO5n8
Art in Nature at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center
Monday, March 1st, 2010As you visit the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, you will be struck by the fascinating blend of sea turtle rehabilitation, research, and educational activities under one roof.
You will also quickly realize that the Georgia Sea Turtle Center is a|gallery, featuring the talents of local artists to promote turtle awareness and conservation.
Tyler Dominey, a local Brunswick blacksmith and artist, has metal sculptures of sea turtles throughout the center on exhibit and for sale. These distinctive, one-of-a-kind art pieces depict marine life inspired by Coastal Georgia.
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center’s very own staff member, Bill Heck, a retired public school teacher from Akron, OH, is very talented with a paintbrush. His educational murals are found around in the center, from the puppet theater to the restrooms!
The underwater artwork of artist and educator, Sherrie Jameson and three students from Macon’s Central High School adorn Amy’s tank, one of our loggerhead sea turtle patients.
Former museum exhibit designer, Raymond Rawls of Gainesville, Florida combined his artistic talents and knowledge of wildlife to create breath-taking artwork used in various displays about turtles and terrapins.
Composer, orchestral arranger and producer Bob Weitz and his musical wizardry shines through as you watch our puppet show, “Scute’s Ocean Adventure,” in our Center’s presentation gallery.
You will see turtle awareness and conservation goes hand in hand with art when you visit the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. A great deal of artistic talent will surround you. Come by, visit us today, witness first hand our amazingly talented staff and volunteers as they treat and care for our turtle patients, and educate our visitors.
visit the Georgia
Sea Turtle Center
214 Stable Road, Jekyll
Island or go online:
georgiaseaturtlecenter.org
Field study exposes how sea turtle hatchlings use their flippers to move quickly on sand
Thursday, February 25th, 2010Field study exposes how sea turtle hatchlings use their flippers to move quickly on sand.
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  VIDEO: This is a video showing a loggerhead sea turtle hatchling on the beach running from its nest to the water.
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Life can be scary for endangered loggerhead sea turtles immediately after they hatch. After climbing out of their underground nest, the baby turtles must quickly traverse a variety of terrains for several hundred feet to reach the ocean.
While these turtles’ limbs are adapted for a life at sea, their flippers enable excellent mobility over dune grass, rigid obstacles and sand of varying compaction and moisture content. A new field study conducted by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology is the first to show how these hatchlings use their limbs to move quickly on loose sand and hard ground to reach the ocean. This research may help engineers build robots that can travel across complex environments.
“Locomotion on sand is challenging because sand surfaces can flow during limb interaction and slipping can result, causing both instability and decreased locomotor performance, but these turtles are able to adapt,” said Daniel Goldman, an assistant professor in the Georgia Tech School of Physics. “On hard-packed sand at the water’s edge, these turtles push forward by digging a claw on their flipper into the ground so that they don’t slip, and on loose sand they advance by pushing off against a solid region of sand that forms behind their flippers.”
Details of the study were published online on February 10, 2010 in the journal Biology Letters. This research was supported by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, National Science Foundation, and the Army Research Laboratory.
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 VIDEO: This is a video showing loggerhead sea turtle hatchling locomotion on granular media.
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In collaboration with the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, biology graduate student Nicole Mazouchova studied the movement of sea turtle hatchlings of the species Caretta caretta at Jekyll Island on the coast of Georgia. She and research technician Andrei Savu worked from a mobile laboratory that contained a nearly three-foot-long trackway filled with dry Jekyll Island sand.
The trackway contained tiny holes in the bottom through which air could be blown. The air pulses elevated the granules and caused them to settle into a loosely packed solid state, allowing the researchers to closely control the density of the sand.
In addition to challenging hatchlings to traverse loosely packed sand in the trackway, the researchers also studied the turtles’ movement on hard surfaces — a sandpaper-covered board placed on top of the sand. Two high-speed cameras recorded the movements of the hatchlings along the trackway, and showed how the turtles altered their locomotion to move on different surfaces.
“We assumed that the turtles would perform best on rigid ground because it would not give way under their flippers, but our experiments showed that while the turtles’ average speed on sand was reduced by 28 percent relative to hard ground, their maximal speeds were the same for both surfaces,” noted Goldman.
The researchers’ investigations showed that on the rigid sandpaper surface, the turtles anchored a claw located on their wrists into the sandpaper and propelled themselves forward. During the thrusting process, one of the turtle’s shoulders rotated toward its body and its wrist did not bend, keeping the limb fully extended.
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  IMAGE: Georgia Tech researchers conducted the first field study showing how endangered loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings use their limbs to move quickly on a variety of terrains in order to reach…
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In contrast, on loosely packed sand, pressure from the thin edge of one of the turtle’s flippers caused the limb to penetrate into the sand. The turtle’s shoulder then rotated as the flipper penetrated until the flipper was perpendicular to the surface and the turtle’s body lifted from the surface.
“The turtles dug into the loosely packed sand, lifted their bellies off the ground, lurched forward, stopped, and did it again,” explained Goldman.
To extend their biological observations, Goldman and physics graduate student Nick Gravish designed an artificial flipper system in the laboratory. The flipper consisted of a thin aluminum plate that was inserted into and dragged along the trackway filled with Jekyll Island sand. Calibrated strain gauges mounted on the flipper provided force measurements during the dragging procedure.
“Our model revealed that a major challenge for rapid locomotion of hatchling sea turtles on sand is the balance between high speed, which requires large inertial forces, and the potential for failure through fluidization of the sand,” explained Goldman. “We believe that the turtles modulate the amount of force they use to push into the sand so that it remains below the force required for the ground to break apart and become fluidlike.”
Goldman and his team plan to conduct further field studies and laboratory experiments to determine if and how the turtles control their limb movements on granular media to avoid sand fluidization. They are also developing robots that move along granular media like the sea turtle hatchings.
“These research results are valuable for roboticists who want to know the minimum number of appendage features necessary to move effectively on land and whether they can just design a robot with a flat mitt and a claw like these turtles have,” noted Goldman.
This material is based on work supported by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface. Work related to physics was supported by the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) MAST CTA under Cooperative Agreement Number W911NF-08-2-0004 and the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Award Number CMMI-0825480. Any opinions, views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this document are those of the researcher and should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of ARL, NSF, or the U.S. Government.
Rescued Sea Turtles will spend the winter on Jekyll Island | WSAV
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
Georgia Sea Turtle Center
One of ten sea turtles rescued from cold.
Ten cold and sick sea turtles that were rescued Thursday night in Florida found themselves taking a three hour van ride to the the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island. By Friday morning, all ten had been examined and were being treated, including swimming in warm mini-pools to bring up their body temperature. The turtles brought to Georgia are among a group of about 100 turtles found near death near Cape Canaveral. (the other 90 turtles are being cared for by rescue agencies in Florida.)
“The ten we took were basically suffering from hypothermia,“ says Dr. Terry Norton, wildlife veterinarian at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. “They were lethargice and we have been trying to bring up their body temperature. “
Norton told us Friday morning says all the turtles had received physical exams. He says the turtles were found “stunned” on the beach and some were nearly comotose. Norton says the turtles are sensitive to quick changes in water temperature and that the ocean temperature apparently dropped quickly because of the cold snap. “I do think we got to all of them in time though,“ Norton says. “I think all of them will survive. “
Center staff spent Friday examining all the turtles, which included drawing blood, sometimes from “patients” who weren’t all that interested in cooperating. “And then from their blood work, we can determine what kinds of fluids they get because we need to hydrate them,“ says Michelle Kaylor, Rehab Coordinator for the Center. Kaylor says unlike humans, turtles can’t generate their own body temperature. She says they react very quickly to their environment, so when the water temperature went down, she says the turtles got very cold, very fast.
The turtles are suffering from “cold stunning” or in terms you and I might relate to, hypothermia. It can affect their immune system and cause secondary problems like pneumonia. Their treatment includes placing them in mini-pools to warm them up a bit at a time. “When this turtle arrived last night he was not moving at all, he was stationery on the exam table,“ Jim Squires tells me. Squires is the general manager of the center and says teh care here has made a difference. He says most of the turtles are moving and showing signs of improvement. “These guys were very lucky, of course many sea turtles were rescued and we’re very happy about that,“ he says.
The recovery process is expected to take time however. “They can’t be released again now because the water is too cold and the temperature is quite severe so they’ll be with us over the winter,“ Squires says.
via Rescued Sea Turtles will spend the winter on Jekyll Island | WSAV.
Emma’s Road Home, an Update from the Georgia Sea Turtle Center
Friday, January 8th, 2010Your visit to GSTC helps Emma and her friends! As visitors realize, rehabilitating endangered sea turtles like Emma can be timeconsuming and costly, but very rewarding. Come visit GST C where you’ll learn about our efforts to aid sea turtles and things you can do to help. We promise you won’t be the same when you leave, and neither will the turtles! Visit the Georgia Sea Turtle Center at 214 Stable Road on Jekyll Island or go online to: www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org
As Georgia’s first sea turtle rehabilitation, research, and educational facility, the Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC) on Jekyll Island receives patients with a variety of injuries and illnesses.
Some of the turtles’ conditions are the result of natural environmental causes while others are caused by human impact. Regardless of the cause, our goal is to heal every turtle, where appropriate, and safely release them back into the wild.
On August 9, 2009, Emma arrived at GSTC after being stranded on a beach at Amelia Island, Florida.
Emma is a green sea turtle who Dr. Terry Norton, Director/Veterinarian describes as arriving with “the most severe boat strike injury that I have ever seen in a live turtle. She is truly amazing.” With a large gash in her carapace (upper shell) likely caused by a boat propeller Emma’s treatment includes regular cleansing of her wound, applying sterile honeycoated bandages that are used for human burn victims and then applying a waterproof bandage so that she can spend her days in the water which allows her to eat. In the evenings, the wound is again cleansed covered with a silver mesh material and then Wound Vacuum Assisted therapy is applied while she is kept out of the water. Initially, Emma even spent overnights at the homes of trained staff where her recovery could be monitored. The great news is Emma is eating well and actively moving around. It’s a long road to recovery for her but she’s well on her way. Visitors to GSTC can see Emma and her incredible progress.
Your visit to Georgia Sea Turtle Center helps Emma and her friends! As visitors realize, rehabilitating endangered sea turtles like Emma can be time-consuming and costly, but very rewarding. Come visit the Georgia Sea Turtle Center where you’ll learn about our efforts to aid sea turtles and things you can do to help. We promise you won’t be the same when you leave, and neither will the turtles! Visit the Georgia Sea Turtle Center at 214 Stable Road on Jekyll Island or go online to: www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org
Kid’s Vacation Education – 5 Fun Learning Activities For Children on Jekyll Island
Sunday, December 13th, 2009
Posted in Travel Tips | December 12th, 2009
Jekyll Island, Georgia is a prime example of an outdoor learning laboratory, one geared towards the maritime environment.
The following Jekyll Island educational opportunities not only present prime opportunities for learning, but they’re fun!
Tidelands Nature Center -
Drop in at Tidelands and experience a wide variety of nature activities revolving around marine ecology. It’s kids and nature, one on one!
Kids can touch and handle fauna, flora and just plain icky stuff at several hands-on study stations. Or learn about the lives of sharks swimming off the Jekyll Island coast. They can study maritime forests from close up, hiking through natural woodlands.
And learn about salt marsh, and how living things (including humans) benefit from it’s protection.
Kids can even learn to kayak, and take a guided kayak trip through Jekyll Island’s salt marsh ecosystem.
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center -
This unique center located, in Jekyll Island’s Historic District, is dedicated to the study, protection and preservation of both sea and land based turtles. Kids can learn everything there is to know about sea turtles, from loggerheads to greens to leatherbacks and more, and about land-based turtles, too. Take a walk on the wild side – a turtle walk, that is, along Jekyll Island’s 10 miles of beach, looking for sea turtles and their nests, attend a sea turtle camp and become a junior conservationist, visit the Georgia Sea Turtle Center’s hospital, and see how the staff rehabilitates sick or injured turtles, become a virtual sea turtle, and experience the life journey of a turtle, from hatchling to (hopefully) old-timer, adopt a sea turtle you can call your own, attend a turtle release, where the Center’s staff releases rehabilitated turtles back to the sea.
Maritime Forests -
Kids can learn about the importance of a maritime forest, and it’s relationship with other Jekyll Island ecologys.
Take guided walks through the maritime forest environment, and learn how it relates with the ocean, beach, dune, and marshland ecosystems. Don’t want to walk? Take a Segway tour, riding a gyroscopic Segway, and learn about the forest in style!
Salt Water Marsh Experience -
Kids get wet and wild with a kayak adventure into Jekyll Island’s river and salt water marsh environment.
Rent a kayak at Tidelands Nature Center. Their guides will teach you everything you need to know for safe kayak operation.
First leg – paddle across Rixen Pond. Watch out for leaping mullet – they’ve been known to jump into boats!
Second leg – portage from Rixen Pond to the boat ramp and put into Jekyll River, and gain first-hand experience with wind and tide. Paddling with a rising tide, with the wind at your back – that’s a breeze. But paddling into an ebbing tide, with the wind in your face – you’ll work like a dog!
Third leg – into the salt marsh, via several creeks that constantly narrow as you ply up-stream. Learn about several types of marsh grass. The barrier islands off the Georgia coast are known as the Golden Isles because the marsh grasses turn burnished gold in winter. Look for crabs, redfish, herons, and other marsh wildlife. And find out how the salt marsh environment not only feeds the fish that feed us, but filters pollutants from the uplands.
History -
Jekyll Island is rich in history, and inquisitive kids can soak in a rich brew of historic fact – along with a bit of speculation.
Check out the Millionaire’s Village. From the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s, Jekyll Island was a playground for millionaires like J.P. Morgan, Vanderbilt, and Rockefeller. The Jekyll Island Club was their play house, and the renovated mansions you can visit within the Historic District were their “cottages.
Visit the Jekyll Island museum for further history lessons, including Jekyll’s role in creating the Federal Reserve. Learn about the Wanderer, one of the last slave ships to bring slaves to America. It landed on Jekyll in 1858. And, get this – even Bigfoot likes a beach vacation. A Sasquatch was reportedly spotted on Jekyll Island in 1963No matter how they’re taught, kids can benefit from fun-filled educational activities, even on vacation. Whether the classroom is a barrier island like Jekyll, a mountain cove like Cade’s Cove in the Smokey Mountains, a National Park such as Yellowstone, or even an urban environment like Washington, D.C., there are plenty of educational opportunities for your kids to get a one-up on learning.
(c) 2010, Rick Freeland
Rick Freeland is a registered landscape architect and an avid Jekyll Island enthusiast. You can find more about his families adventures on Jekyll Island at http://www.jekyll-island-family-adventures.com/.
You can find more articles by Rick on landscape and garden subjects, as well as other interests, at http://www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/richardsfreeland.
How Can I Help? An Update from the Georgia Sea Turtle Center
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
“Hey, look at that awesome turtle! Why is it here?” Comments like this echo daily throughout the Georgia Sea Turtle Center’s Rehabilitation Pavilion from visitors, young and old alike.
Whether viewing a young hatchling or a 200-pound adult loggerhead at the center, sea turtles fascinate us, awaken our curiosity, and connect us to nature. Learning about each of the GSTC’s patients, guests develop a new understanding and appreciation of sea turtles. More important, guests have the unique portunity to fully understand the stories of individual sea turtles at the center and get closer to these endangered animals than they might otherwise. After all, there just aren’t many sea turtles swimming around Kansas.
As visitors leave, they often feel like they’ve made a special connection with a new friend. One of the other questions we are frequently asked at the Center is “How can I help?” With the holidays upon us and the spirit of giving in the air, people are looking for special gifts to give their loved ones. The Georgia Sea Turtle Center can help in that department as donations, center memberships, items from its gift shop, and the ever-popular Adopt-a-Sea-Turtle program put smiles on faces of those who give and receive, knowing that their gifts support the GSTC in helping endangered sea turtles survive for future generations. And if sea turtles could smile, they probably would as well!
PATIENT OF THE MONTH
Caton, a sub-adult loggerhead turtle, arrived this past summer after being rescued by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources from nearby Blackbeard Island. Stranded on the beach and too weak to move, Caton was brought to Georgia Sea Turtle Center where she was tested and treated. Happily, Caton recovered very nicely. With her release back into the wild only days away, staff began to notice that something wasn’t right with her behavior. Fortunately, Dr. Norton diagnosed the problem and her condition once again improved. Unfortunately, the ocean became too cold while she recovered for her to be safely released. So, we are graced by the presence of this active loggerhead until next spring when she can be returned to her ocean home.
See More Online at www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org
‘Sea’ the turtles on Jekyll Island in Georgia | Easier
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009‘Sea’ the turtles on Jekyll Island in Georgia | Easier.
Georgia comes to the rescue every year for sea turtles discovered stranded on beaches along the Atlantic coastline of the U.S., relocating the sick and injured turtles found on the beaches to marine centres as far south as Florida for treatment. The Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island was reopened in 2007, following renovations to serve as the rehabilitation, research, and education facility in Georgia.
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center is able to provide cutting-edge emergency care to sick turtles and long term treatment to prevent premature releases into their natural habitats. Research programs at the center include nest monitoring, satellite tagging, and human impact studies. They seek to “increase awareness of habitat and wildlife conservation challenges, promote responsibility for ecosystem health and empower individuals to act locally, regionally, and globally to protect the environment” as stated in The Georgia Sea Turtle Center’s mission statement.
While visiting the center, visitors learn about conservation efforts, the rehabilitation process, and the life of a sea turtle from egg to adulthood. Exciting special events take place throughout the year. During May, “Nest Fest” allows guests to witness turtle releases. In the peak nesting months of June and July, visitors may participate in evening turtle walks with the possibility of seeing a nesting sea turtle, or take a morning turtle walk to see what is inside a nest that has already been hatched and help record important research data. Other special events take place year round.
The center also offers a behind the scenes tour so visitors can take a peek at the surgery, treatment, and X-ray rooms, food preparation rooms, and animal holding areas where injured species other than sea turtles are kept.
All profits from admissions, gift shop sales, sea turtle adoptions, memberships, and donations are used for operational costs as well as exhibit development and the rehabilitation of The Georgia Sea Turtle Center’s patients.
For more information, visit georgiaseaturtlecenter.org or exploregeorgia.com.
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center Update
Thursday, November 5th, 2009Tunicate
The gender of a sea turtle cannot be ascertained visually until they are sexually mature, which in the case of the loggerhead takes 35 years. We received a turtle last spring that had a heavy load of sea squirts or tunicates on its shell. The turtle was appropriately named tunicate. Tunicate presented unable to dive and we subsequently found air in the body cavity secondary to a lung tear. The lung tear was likely from blunt force trauma and possibly a boat strike. After numerous aspirations with a needle and syringe the air was finally removed and the lung tear healed. Tunicate no longer floated and started to eat and defecate normally now that all the pressure from the air was gone. Subadult sea turtles can be sexed by testing their blood for testosterone levels. Tunicate had very high testosterone levels and is a male. Tunicate also has a propeller wound from a boat and a shark bite. Both wounds were almost healed when he arrived. Tunicate will be released with several other turtles during the annual Birding Festival on Jekyll Island in early October.
THE REWARDS OF VOLUNTEERING
Adapting an old African proverb, one could say “It takes a community to save a turtle.” The Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC) treats all of it patients with one goal – safely release them back into the wild. As with any hospital, a lot goes on behind the scenes to make this happen on a daily (and nightly) basis by staff and many unsung heroes- our volunteers!GSTC volunteers contribute their time, energy, passion and experience in many different ways. Some greet guests and orient them to our facility and its offerings. Others guide guests through the exhibit gallery and turtle hospital, offering enriching information about turtles and our special patients. Some volunteers care for turtles by helping staff prepare food, manage tanks, and assist with rehabilitation procedures while others may take guests for educational walks on the beach or help with research. Quite often, you’ll see them helping with special events like turtle releases or island celebrations. In 2009, volunteers contributed over 11,000 of hours of time in rehabilitation, research and education, making visitors and turtles better off as a result.
“I have gotten far more from being a volunteer than the Center has ever asked of me. It’s been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had. I knew NOTHING about Sea Turtles when I began but thanks to the excellent staff, I feel confident answering questions from the public. I am proud to be a part of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center!!”
During this season of giving, we want to offer specials thanks to our wonderful volunteers. We know the turtles appreciate them, too!
become a volunteer!
Please contact Teddy Ivey: (912) 634-4076 • tivey@jekyllisland.com
www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org/join-us
Sea Turtles Catch a Private Flight
Thursday, November 5th, 2009The Sea Turtles injured by cold stunning caught a private flight to come to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. See the details in this video.
SC, Ga., hosting 3 injured turtles – AP State GA – Ledger-Enquirer.comsea
Monday, November 2nd, 2009SC, Ga., hosting 3 injured sea turtles – AP State GA – Ledger-Enquirer.com.
CHARLESTON, S.C. — South Carolina and Georgia are welcoming three endangered sea turtles being flown to the area after they were stunned in cold waters off the New England coast last year.
The loggerhead sea turtle and two Kemp’s ridleys are arriving at the Mount Pleasant Regional Airport Monday afternoon. They’re flying on an Angel Flight from the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine.
Sea turtles are cold blooded and can’t regulate their body temperatures, so they get stunned when water temperatures drop quickly.
The loggerhead suffered shell damage and will stay at the South Carolina Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital until spring. The other two are recuperating from pneumonia and will call the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island home after a brief stay in South Carolina.
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center Staff Invites You to Turtleween This Saturday October 24th!
Monday, October 19th, 2009
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Pumpkin, Night Watch and Skidaway…TO BE RELEASED!
Thursday, September 10th, 2009That’s right! We are planning to release 3 turtles: Pumpkin, Night Watch and Skidaway on Sunday, September 20, 2009 during the last day of Jekyll Island’s Annual Shrimp and Grits Festival!
As most of you probably know, Pumpkin (LEFT), a sub-adult Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) sea turtle, was supposed to be released on May 13, 2009 during our Annual Nest Fest event. However, due to complications observed after the transmitter placement, we decided not to release Pumpkin, in his/her best interest.
Now that Pumpkin’s infections have cleared up and he/she has been taken off of antibiotics, has sunk to the bottom of her tank, and is eating normally, it’s time to let her go! You’ll be able to track Pumpkin after his/her release on www.seaturtle.org (please be patient, it usually takes a few days for the tracking page to come up) and you’ll also be able to adopt Pumpkin as an Option #2 turtle through the GSTC’s Adopt-a-Sea Turtle Program! (*Option #2 adoptions help to offset additional costs attributed to the satellite transmitters after release. We have to pay for ‘satellite time’ and data management for as long as the turtle transmits a signal!)
Night Watch (RIGHT), a young sub-adult Loggerhead sea turtle, is also ready for release. She was found by the Georgia Bulldog (a sea turtle research vessel) and brought to the Center for care. He/she has responded very well to treatment and is ready for release!
Night Watch will not be getting a satellite transmitter due to her size and prominent dorsal ridge that is still evident on her carapace (shell). This ridge is normal for loggerhead sea turtles of this size class, and with time, will eventually smooth out. This ridge would require us to place the transmitter off-center and could yield in inaccurate data, not to mention potentially making the turtle feel ‘off balance’. Night Watch will still receive a final exam, flipper tags and a PIT tag.
And last, but not least, Skidaway. Skidaway is a small, juvenile Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) sea turtle. This is the rarest and most critically endangered species of sea turtle in the world! Skidaway has been with us since June 2009 from the Tybee Marine Science Center. Skidaway will also not be receiving a satellite transmitter due mostly to her size…the transmitter is too big and weighs too much for such a small turtle! She will receive a PIT tag.
Details:
When: Sunday, September 20, 2009
Time: 3:00 pm
Location: North side of the Convention Center on Jekyll Island, GA
This event is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, space is first come, first serve! So come on out and say good-bye and good luck with us to 3 wonderful patients!
Sincerely,
Stefanie Ouellette
Marine Field Programs Coordinator
*Please note that all releases are subject to change at any time (date, time, location, etc.) in the best interest of the turtle(s).
Coastal Georgia Golf League – Week#11
Saturday, September 5th, 2009
| PLACE | Week # 11 Results — Sept. 5 | ||||
| 1 | Ingalls Inc.** | 59 | |||
| 2 | Gulfstream | 59 | |||
| 3 | Prudential Georgia Intracoastal Properties | 60 | |||
| 4 | Emerald Princess II Casino | 61 | |||
| 5 | Jekyll Island Authority | 62 | |||
| 6 | Longhorns | 62 | |||
| 7 | Suzie’s Friends | 63 | |||
| 8 | Allgood Pest Control | 64 | |||
| 9 | Scientific Turf | 64 | |||
| Year – To – Date Standings | Week #10 | Week #11 | Total | ||
| 1 | Prudential Georgia Intracoastal Properties | 135 | 130 | 1515 | |
| 2 | Gulfstream | 122.5 | 140 | 1469.5 | |
| 3 | Longhorns | 122.5 | 117.5 | 1389.5 | |
| 4 | Jekyll Island Authority | 150 | 117.5 | 1342.5 | |
| 5 | Emerald Princess II Casino | 135 | 125 | 1307.5 | |
| 6 | Suzie’s Friends | 110 | 110 | 1260 | |
| 7 | Ingalls Inc. | 110 | 150 | 1249.7 | |
| 8 | Scientific Turf | 100 | 102.5 | 1241.2 | |
| 9 | Allgood Pest Control | 110 | 102.5 | 1107.7 |
Coastal Georgia Golf League – Week #9
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009
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| 895.2 |
2009 Beach Music Festival Golf Tournament
Saturday, August 22nd, 2009
2 Person Team Net Results – August 21st
Pos
1st Kevin Dye (Bristol, TN)
Chris Dye (VA.) – Net Score = 60
2nd Patrick Kennedy (Statesboro, GA)
Harrison Pitts (Swainsboro, GA) -Net Score = 63
3rd Greg Dodd (Jekyll Island, GA)
Keith Ingalls (Jekyll Island, GA) Net Score = 64
Coastal Georgia Golf League – Week #8
Saturday, August 15th, 2009
| PLACE | Week # 8 Results — Aug. 15 | ||||
| 1 | Gulfstream | 58 | |||
| 2 | Suzie’s Friends | 58 | |||
| 3 | Prudential Georgia Intracoastal Properties | 60 | |||
| 4 | Jekyll Island Authority | 60 | |||
| 5 | Longhorns | 61 | |||
| 6 | Ingalls Inc. | 61 | |||
| 7 | Emerald Princess II Casino | 62 | |||
| 8 | Scientific Turf | 63 | |||
| 9 | Allgood Pest Control | 63 | |||
| Year – To – Date Standings | Week #7 | Week #8 | Total | ||
| 1 | Prudential Georgia Intracoastal Properties | 150 | 127.5 | 1100 | |
| 2 | Gulfstream | 132 | 150 | 1082 | |
| 3 | Longhorns | 132 | 117.5 | 1039.5 | |
| 4 | Jekyll Island Authority | 117.5 | 127.5 | 950 | |
| 5 | Emerald Princess II Casino | 117.5 | 110 | 937.5 | |
| 6 | Suzie’s Friends | 105 | 140 | 915 | |
| 7 | Scientific Turf | 110 | 102.5 | 898.7 | |
| 8 | Ingalls Inc. | 132 | 117.5 | 879.7 | |
| 9 | Sanctuary Cove GC | 90 | 90 | 827.5 | |
| 10 | Allstate Insurance (Rob Dunagan Agency) | 90 | 90 | 806.2 | |
| 11 | Allgood Pest Control | 100 | 102.5 | 795.2 | |
| 12 | Coastal Regional Commission | 90 | 90 | 790.2 | |
| 13 | Dan Vaden Chevrolet | 90 | 90 | 790.2 | |
Coastal Georgia Golf League Week #6
Saturday, August 1st, 2009
| PLACE | Week # 6 Results — Aug. 1 | ||||
| 1 | Scientific Turf | 59 | |||
| 2 | Gulfstream | 59 | |||
| 3 | Prudential Georgia Intracoastal Properties | 60 | |||
| 4 | Ingalls Inc. | 60 | |||
| 5 | Jekyll Island Authority | 71 | |||
| 6 | Longhorns | 71 | |||
| 7 | Emerald Princess II Casino | 71 | |||
| 8 | Suzie’s Friends | 72 | |||
| 9 | Allgood Pest Control | 72 | |||
| Year – To – Date Standings | Week #5 | Week #6 | Total | ||
| 1 | Prudential Georgia Intracoastal Properties | 150 | 127.5 | 822.5 | |
| 2 | Gulfstream | 130 | 140 | 800 | |
| 3 | Longhorns | 110 | 115 | 790 | |
| 4 | Emerald Princess II Casino | 110 | 115 | 710 | |
| 5 | Jekyll Island Authority | 125 | 115 | 705 | |
| 6 | Scientific Turf | 140 | 150 | 686.2 | |
| 7 | Suzie’s Friends | 110 | 102.5 | 670 | |
| 8 | Sanctuary Cove GC | 140 | 90 | 647.5 | |
| 9 | Ingalls Inc. | 94 | 127.5 | 630.2 | |
| 10 | Allstate Insurance (Rob Dunagan Agency) | 120 | 90 | 626.2 | |
| 11 | Coastal Regional Commission | 94 | 90 | 610.2 | |
| 12 | Dan Vaden Chevrolet | 94 | 90 | 610.2 | |
| 13 | Allgood Pest Control | 94 | 102.5 | 592.7 |
