Meet Our Sea Turtles

Hank

Hank was found in 2010 as a "cold stunned” turtle. He was covered in barnacles and very lethargic. Hank was taken to Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota and deemed Non-releasable because of floatation issues by the veterinarian on staff. In November 2010, he came to the Coastal Center so we could provide him with the long term care he would need.
 
Hank is very different then our other two turtles. Where as Lily and Turt will do just about anything for food, Hank takes a little more coaxing to eat. When he first arrived, Turt had what appeared to be mini panic attacks triggered when fish or people got too close to him. He has gotten a lot better since he has been at the Coastal Center and is much more comfortable in his surroundings.
 
Hank can often be found swimming along the south edge of the Lagoon looking for his trainers and begging for food. Hank is our smallest turtle and still a juvenile in carapace size. His timid demeanor and small size really does make him the "baby” of our group and we don't' mind giving him the extra time and attention he needs to ensure he is comfortable and happy.

Lily (Liliana)

Lily was originally found floating off the coast of No Name Key in 2008, by a helpful fisherman. She was taken to the Marathon Turtle Hospital where she spent two years. During her stay, the doctors brainstormed ways to help Lily with her floatation issue. It was determined that she was hit by a boat propeller which damaged her ability to control her level in the water column. This causes her to constantly float at the surface. Medication was found to be ineffective, so it was decided that the best option would be attaching weights to her carapace (upper shell). Lily was deemed Non-releasable since the weights only stay attached for about a year at a time. As a non-releasable turtle, she needed to be relocated to a long term care facility like the Coastal Center.

Lily arrived at the Coastal Center on December 6th 2010. She was transferred to Florida Oceanographic so that she would have a larger living area and more appropriate surroundings for a turtle of her size and demeanor.

Since living at the Coastal Center, Lily has gotten a lot of attention! Her large parrot-like eyes and immense size surprises everyone who sees her, people find it hard to believe that she is only a sub adult. Her face is so unique compared to our other turtles that it even inspired a local artist to create a painting focusing on her alluring eyes.

Lily is approximately 135lbs and has an insatiable appetite - consuming lobster, squid and anything else that floats close to her nearly always open jaws. Lily is currently undergoing operant training during her feeding times and responses with freight train like force to her orange target without fail.

Turt (Turtwig)

Turt was found floating in the intake canal of the Nuclear Power Plant in Fort Pierce in 2009. Unfortunately, that wasn't the first time he needed help. Turt was found with an internal pit tag that told a story of at least four other occurrences when humans had to step in to provide him aid. Concerned by the number of times the turtle had been scanned, the rescuers took him to Loggerhead Marinelife Turtle Hospital in Juno Beach with the hope that the doctors there would be able to determine what was causing this turtle so much turmoil.

After undergoing a series of tests at the hospital, Turt was diagnosed with spastic peristalsis of his large intestines, meaning he would need to be on medication to control his buoyancy for the rest of his life. Since the medicine needed to be administered every other day, he needed to find a facility that could care for him. That's when Florida Oceanographic got involved.

Turt came to the Coastal Center on July 23rd2010. He was first turtle to call the Center home. To say that Turt is spoiled would be an understatement. He is just under 100lbs and a sub adult in carapace size. He responds to a blue target during his operant training which leads to food and tactile rewards (just don't tell him we hide his medicine in his food). You can often find Turt foraging along the bottom of the Game Fish Lagoon eating algae or doing his daily workout routine of pushups, along the back of the Lagoon or in between the islands. He has been mischievous since day one and loves to keeps us on our toes.