Sea Life Aquarium has unveiled their new Turtle Rescue Center which provides a permanent home for two non-releaseable endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles, Roxy and Squirt. My son loves sea creatures but especially sea turtles so he could hardly wait to visit them as soon as the exhibit opened.
We watched the turtles for a long time as they swam around their tank. We learned a lot from the displays around the Turtle Rescue Center as well as the friendly Sea Life Aquarium staff who was more than happy to answer all of my son’s endless questions about the turtles.
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Roxy was found stranded off Mustang Island Gulf Beach in 2007 after both left limbs were bitten off and her right limb suffered a large bite, limiting the mobility on her left side. Squirt was found stranded on the Padre Island National Seashore in 2009 after a boat strike caused paralysis of both rear flippers and a cracked shell, affecting his ability to dive. Due to the severity of their injuries, both turtles are unable to return to their natural habitat and will now live out the rest of their lives in the safety of Sea Life Aquarium.
The Turtle Rescue Center includes a very large display tank that was specially designed to the depth the turtles are able to safely dive based on their injuries. The tank has many windows around the sides so kids can easily watch the turtles dive and swim under the water. My son wasn’t the only kid who just hung out around the windows of the tank to see what the turtles would do next. But the tank is also open on the top so you can look down on the turtles and watch them as they come up for a breath of air. The exhibit really allows for an up close and personal look at these beautiful creatures.
We had a great time learning about sea turtles. My son is still talking about the exhibit not to mention all of the other great exhibits that we always enjoy when we visit Sea Life Aquarium. Haven’t been to Sea Life Aquarium yet? Check out the fun Holly and her kids had at their first visit to Sea Life Aquarium!
Thanks for sharing! I keep hearing great things about the aquarium and Legoland. We only live a couple of hours away, so we will have to make the trip. Thanks!