Gulfarium CARE Center releases 7 sea turtles, including first adult male Kemp's ridley

Collin Bestor, Northwest Florida Daily News
·1 min read
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Landon, an adult male Kemp's ridley sea turtle, makes his way home Tuesday at the Topsail Hill State Preserve.
Landon, an adult male Kemp's ridley sea turtle, makes his way home Tuesday at the Topsail Hill State Preserve.

SANTA ROSA BEACH — Officials from the Gulfarium CARE Center released seven sea turtles back into the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday at the Topsail Hill State Preserve.

One of the seven turtles released during the event was a 62-pound Kemp's ridley sea turtle named Landon. He came to the CARE Center after being hooked at the Pensacola Beach Fishing Pier on June 30. Landon's release marked the first time the center rehabilitated and released an adult male of the species.

"Kemp’s ridleys are the most endangered of all seven species, and male sea turtles are already extremely rare," stranding coordinator Tabitha Siegfried said. "A male Kemp's ridley is incredible to be able to see and work with. Male sea turtles rarely come to shore unless sick, injured or deceased, making encounters like this exceedingly rare."

Kemp's ridley sea turtles are among the most endangered in local waters. Estimates say that 22,000 Kemp's ridleys remain in the wild.

In addition to treating and releasing Landon, United States Geological Survey members applied a satellite tag to the turtle to gather data on his future movements and behaviors. Acoustic tags were applied to the other six turtles and will be used to collect data, such as fine-scale movements and habitat use around fishing piers.

With these tags, USGS members hope the data collected will aid future conservation efforts to help reduce the number of sea turtles hooked or entangled in fishing gear.

If you see a sea turtle in distress, injured, or deceased, immediately report it to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at 888-404-FWCC (888-404-3922).

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Gulfarium CARE Center releases seven more turtles into Gulf of Mexico