Audubon Aquarium Releases Three Sea Turtles

Three sea turtles are back in the Gulf after undergoing extensive care with Audubon Aquarium Rescue. Audubon team members recently released two critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles and one large loggerhead sea turtle into the waters off Galveston, Texas.

The young Kemp’s ridleys, nicknamed Libra and Dorado, were found cold stunned in New England last winter and brought to New Orleans for extended treatment. These two Kemp’s are the final cold stunned turtles Audubon Aquarium Rescue was rehabbing. When turtles are exposed to cold temperatures, they can become weak and unable to swim. After recovering with Audubon, they became the 26^th and 27^th critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles Audubon Aquarium Rescue has released back into the Gulf this year.

Joining them was Francois, a male loggerhead turtle originally found floating upside down at Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge in Grand Chenier, Louisiana in 2023. He was underweight and extremely dehydrated when he was found. Fortunately, Audubon Aquarium Rescue stepped in to help. After many months of treatment team members said farewell to the massive turtle on the beach in Galveston. He weighed 227 pounds and had gained 45 pounds while he was in rehabilitation.

Texas was chosen in consultation with federal partners after documenting high vessel activity along the Louisiana coast. Kemp’s and loggerheads also call Texas waters home, making it an ideal secondary location for this release. Audubon partnered with the Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research at Texas A&M Galveston to facilitate the release of these turtles.

“Protecting sea turtles and marine mammals takes tremendous cooperation along the coast. Our partners at the Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research were instrumental in the release of these turtles helping us find the best time and location to send them back to the Gulf,” said Gabriella Harlamert, Audubon Aquarium Rescue Stranding and Rehabilitation Coordinator. “Watching these turtles swim into the Gulf waters is rewarding for everyone who helped get them to this point. Francois was with us for nearly two years and overcame tremendous health issues. Our entire team shared the excitement of watching him maneuver along the beach and into the Gulf for the first time in years.”

Coordinated by Audubon Nature Institute, Audubon Aquarium Rescue is NOAA Fisheries’ primary stranding network response partner for marine mammals and sea turtles in Louisiana. Committed to the humane care and treatment of injured, ill, or displaced marine animals in Louisiana, Audubon Aquarium Rescue is the only entity in the state responsible for the rehabilitation of live marine mammals and sea turtles. The information collected from stranded animals provides a snapshot into the health of the marine environment and provides a better understanding of threats to marine mammals and sea turtles in the wild.

If you spot stranded or out-of-habitat marine mammals and sea turtles (live or dead) call Audubon Aquarium Rescue at 877-942-5343.