On Friday, August 12, the National Aquarium was joined by Oceana for the release of three endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles into the Chesapeake Bay at Point Lookout State Park in Scotland, Maryland. The turtles came to the National Aquarium this winter from the New England Aquarium, after they were found stranded along Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

On Sunday, June 26, a group of rehabilitated Kemp’s ridley sea turtles were released into the Chesapeake Bay at Point Lookout State Park in Scotland, Maryland. The public gathered on the beach to join in the festivities.

The turtles came to the National Aquarium in December from the New England Aquarium, after they were found stranded along Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Kemp’s ridley turtles are the most endangered and the smallest of all the sea turtle species, which makes them particularly vulnerable to severe changes in water temperature. They all suffered from cold stunning – the sea turtle equivalent of hypothermia.

After 6 months of rehabilitation by The National Aquarium’s Marine Animal Rescue Program (MARP), the turtles, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolph, Frosty, and Buddy(the elf), were nursed back to health and ready to be released back to the ocean. They all enjoyed a diet of capelin, shrimp, squid, and mussels at the National Aquarium and nearly doubled in body weight.

The turtles were outfitted with a satellite transmitter that allows us to track the location and speed of the turtles following the release. These tags help researchers learn more about sea turtle migration and travel patterns. The public is invited to follow the turtles’ progress by viewing a satellite map of their travels.

Since Kemp’s ridley sea turtles commonly utilize the Chesapeake Bay during the warm summer months to feed on an assortment of jellies and invertebrates, Aquarium officials felt this was the best time and location to release the turtles and to prepare for the possibility of new patients. The turtles are expected to stay in the Mid-Atlantic region or head north for the summer.

Oceana joined the Aquarium to help educate people on their save the sea turtles campaign, which is dedicated to the protection and restoration of sea turtle populations in the world’s oceans. The campaign works to reduce sea turtle bycatch in fisheries, protect sea turtle habitat and develop legislation to protect sea turtles. The National Aquarium and Oceana have similar goals; to protect and conserve sea turtle populations for future generations.

Many of MARP’s patients are sick or injured due to human-related problems like boat strikes, gear entanglement or plastic ingestion. Weather, malnourishment, exhaustion and pollution also contribute to strandings.

Rescuing and studying stranded animals provides vital information about the status of the ocean and coastal environments, as well as the biology and health of the animals that live in those environments.

The public is invited to help with the National Aquarium’s marine animal rehabilitation efforts. Txt ACT to 20222 to make a $5 donation. Msg & data rates apply or visit aqua.org.

These turtles were the 89th, 90th, 91st, 92nd, and 93rd animals released by the National Aquarium’s
MARP program. Formed in 1991 and staffed almost entirely by volunteers, the Marine Animal
Rescue program has responded to hundreds of strandings, including seals, dolphins and endangered
sea turtles, and to sightings of manatees, dolphins and other marine mammals.

You can’t go far without hearing about the oil spill disaster still unfolding in the Gulf, and it has been deeply disturbing to watch as gallons and gallons of oil are being pushed into that irreplaceable ecosystem each second. Because you are a friend of the National Aquarium, we wanted to share with you what the Aquarium is doing and to ask for your continued commitment and support.

The Marine Animal Rescue Program team has been very active with sea turtle rescues this year, and their work is not finished just yet. In late October a new green sea turtle patient was submitted to the MARP hospital. The turtle was found cold stunned in New Jersey and transported to the National Aquarium for rehabilitation.

After a year-long rehabilitation, the National Aquarium’s Marine Animal Rescue Program (MARP), returned a now-healthy loggerhead sea turtle to its ocean habitat from the beaches at Assateague State Park. Over 500 people gathered on the beach for the release and watched in anticipation as the turtle swam through the waves, and returned to sea.