We visited the Turtle Rescue Center, which is right next
door to the South Padre Island Birding Center. The Center was founded by Ila
Fox Loetscher, otherwise known as “The Turtle Lady of South Padre Island.” In
the 1960’s, Ila began rehabilitating injured sea turtles in her home. Most had
been injured by power boat strikes, getting tangled in abandoned fishing line,
or ingesting trash. By 1977 she was receiving so many interested guests at her
home that she established Sea Turtle Inc. and opened the center.
The Center’s mission is to rehabilitate injured sea turtles
for release back into the wild, as well as to educate the public in the
process. Many of the turtles they care for are able to be rehabilitated and
released, however, some are so badly injured that they could not survive if
released, so they live the rest of their natural life at the Center. One such
turtle we met was Allison, named for the young girl who found her and reported
her to the Center. Allison lost 3 of her 4 flippers to a predator attack, and
for the first 4 years could only swim in a tight circle, and had to be kept in
a shallow pool so she could surface and breath. In 2009 the doctors at the
Center began attaching prosthetic devices that allowed Allison swim in somewhat
of a straight line. Now she is the center of attention at the Center, and we were
no exceptions.
Talk to you soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment