- Sea turtles, like Echo, are often displaced after hurricanes, requiring care to survive and return to the wild.
- The Gulf Specimen Marine Lab works to support the endangered sea turtle population by providing rehabilitation and treatment.
- Watch the video to see why turtles are crucial for maintaining healthy ecosystems and supporting local tourism in Panacea.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
This is Echo. She was found in a freshwater pond in Taylor County after Hurricane Helene. A team from the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab in Wakulla County rescued her. (Split screen showing turtle)
They’re saving turtles so they can go back to their habitats.
I visited the sea turtle hospital at the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab, where Echo is being cared for.
“Sea turtles aren’t supposed to live in freshwater and she couldn’t reproduce, migrate, or do any of the things she’d naturally do.”
Hunter Eichler is the head aquarist at the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab and says they give them treatment so they’re healthy when they go back to their habitats.
Hurricanes are a common time when sea turtles get displaced from their habitats.
Before sea turtles were listed as endangered, they were hunted for their meat, shells, and their eggs were harvested.
Eichler says they hope to keep the sea turtle population up by rescuing the injured ones.
“Once they were listed as endangered their populations were already decimated, so we’re just trying to help bring those populations back to a healthy level.”
Paige Parker also cares for the turtles and says they need to be protected and support the ecosystem.
“It takes thirty years for a sea turtle to reach maturity and be able to reproduce, so getting them back into the wild so they can make more baby sea turtles is what we want to do.”
Not only are sea turtles good for the ecosystem, but they also bring in tourism, which helps Panacea as a whole.
“People come to see sea turtles when they’re out on their boats or see them laying their eggs, so if there’s none here we lose that.”
All the care the sea turtles receive is funded by the Marine Lab. To support them, check out their page HERE.
