SEA TURTLES ON SOUTH PADRE ISLAND

Geri and I toured the Sea Turtle Rescue Center on South Padre Island. We didn't know what to expect and were pleasantly surprised. Upon entering the Center we saw several large tanks. There were also various posters and displays to be read for information about sea turtles. We listened to the tour guide and viewed different species of turtles in the large tanks. Visit one of these sites for more information:
http://www.seaturtleinc.org/
http://www.texasturtles.org/

The turtle to the right is handicapped. Usually turtles that are severely hurt are euthanized. This turtle caught the hearts of several volunteers, so they figured out a devise mounted on top of a small jacket, which is strapped to the turtle's back. The turtle has learned to use the flippers he has left along with the rutter on the jacket to maneuver around it's tank. Most turtles are healed and released, but this one will stay in the tank as an educational aid.
On the left is a very large turtle named Gerry. His name used to be Geraldine, until someone discovered she was a male turtle.  My sister, Geri, is taking a picture of Gerry. He could live to be 100 years old and get to weigh as much as 600 pounds!  Gerry was very large and seemed to enjoy watching the people watching him. His eyes were right on me below!

On Tuesday night, to our surprise and delight, the Winter Texan Meeting had a display about the Sea Turtles in Texas and a speaker that was very informative.  She talked about how the turtles are protected and told us it is illegal to use the shells to make decorative items, boots, purses or anything else. If items are discovered they will be confiscated, as the boots she had on display.

Her display also had an example of what a nest might look like. There are people that go out looking for nests, digging them up and protecting them until the turtles start to hatch. They are then released, in hopes that many make it into adulthood. This is a very large project on South Padre Island, in which dozens of volunteers participate in.  There is also a volunteer that has trained his dog to hunt for turtle nests!

It was a great day at the Turtle Center and an informative evening at the Winter Texan Meeting.

Baby swimming over the mother, in one of the tanks.