JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga. – For almost 20 years, the Georgia Sea Turtle Center has restored the health of injured sea turtles and educated the public.
The state’s only center of its kind draws thousands of visitors annually. Annie Gero, an educator at the center, said it has treated and released over 750 turtles back into the ocean since opening in 2007.
It’s the only facility of its kind in the state and welcomes thousands of visitors each year. Annie Gero, an educator at the center, said more than 750 turtles have been treated and released back into the ocean since the center opened in 2007.
Gero said when visitors walk into the entrance of the center, which is the gift shop, many guests often miss something huge.
“We have a very large skeleton hanging from the ceiling,” Gero said. “This is Archelon, a prehistoric sea turtle.”
Past the gift shop is the learning center, where guests explore sea turtle biology and nesting behavior.
And where you can ask educators like Gero fun facts about sea turtles.
“A sea turtles throat, they have a bunch of little spines that line their throat and point downwards, and that’s because while they’re eating and underwater they’re drinking a lot of salt,” Gero said. “In order to stay hydrated, they spit out all of their water, and then by having those spines, it holds onto that food and keeps it down where it needs to be.”
The learning center is also a place for visitors to learn about the dangers sea turtles face.
“Just some of those natural threats they’re facing out there: predators,” Gero said. “Sometimes they get sick, and unfortunately, humans are a really big problem as well. We see lots of entanglement cases, boat strikes, and pollution.”
One of the learning center’s biggest draws is its treatment room, where visitors can watch veterinarians work with live patients.
During a visit earlier this month, guests were able to see Hawksby get some work done.
“This is Hawksby,” Gero said. “Who is a fairly new patient, and they came in as what we consider a debilitated case. That’s typically some kind of illness. “Regularly, we are pulling some blood from them so we can read their values and figure out a little bit more about them, and based off that, we’ll give them fluids and vitamins and things.”
On average, turtles stay at the center between three and six months for rehabilitation.
Visitors can get a closer look at all of the turtles staying at the center if they venture into the rehabilitation pavilion, also known as the sea turtle hospital.
The pavilion also includes other reptiles that the center is nursing back to health.
More information about the Georgia Sea Turtle Center can be found here.