Sea turtle nesting season runs from May 1 to Oct. 30 in Florida
With sea turtle nesting season is in full swing along Florida's beaches, Marineland Dolphin Adventure welcomed guests with an extra helping of education for World Turtle Day on Saturday.
Ron Breukelaar traveled from Charlotte, North Carolina over the Memorial Day Weekend and one of the stops for his family was Marineland. After visiting the dolphins and watching staff members feed sand tiger sharks, one of their favorite things was learning more about sea turtles.
“We’re here to see my wife’s favorite animal, the turtles,” said Breukelaar, adding thoir son Quin “loved the dolphins too, but the turtles is where it’s at.”
Offering information throughout the day, team members from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Whitney Laboratory’s Sea Turtle Hospital, as well as guides and volunteers for Marineland, helped illustrate the difference between sea turtles, tortoises, and their freshwater cousins.
“We get a better turnout when we celebrate World Turtle Day on a weekend, so we chose today so we could celebrate and inform the public about why turtles are important and how we’re affecting their population,” said aquarist Ashley Taylor. “A big thing we’re doing is educating people about gopher tortoises, which are part of Florida’s ecosystem, and showcasing our sea turtles that are out there.”
Carolyn Dodd and her granddaughter Kamaya Berg traveled to the park from Jacksonville. Not having been to Marineland for a number of years, Dodd wanted to share the experience with Kamaya, who peered into the massive tanks holding a loggerhead sea turtle and Kemp’s Riddley sea turtle.
“We wanted to do something fun today,” said Dodd. “She gets to learn about the process of life and how they’re (turtles) good for the environment.”
Guests watched as staff member Amanda Calfee fed and visited with the park’s resident sea turtles: Rocky, a 19-year-old loggerhead that was brought to Marineland four years ago after being left blind in his left eye by a boat strike, and Pokey, a 34-year-old Kemp’s ridley that arrived from Sea World after being diagnosed with a bilateral degenerative joint disease.
“He has a great, safe home here,” Calfee said of Rocky. “He’s come such a long way.”
Mark Zander, who volunteers at Marineland, happily led visitors around, talking about the special place in his heart for the big guy lovingly named Rocky.
“He’s put on weight and he’s like one of my kids,” said Zander.
The World Turtle Day celebration is a part of the Marineland Dolphin Adventure’s 80th Anniversary lineup of events, which includes the reopening of the Iconic Marineland Arch on Thursday.