Featured Image Credit: South Carolina Aquarium
As of May 27th 2017 that’s exactly what you can get at the South Carolina Aquarium! A new exhibit is open, except this time around, the focus is pretty direct: helping marine life (or more specifically, sea turtles) to recover after being rescued when they’re sick or otherwise injured. And the aquarium is offering an awesome new chance for others to learn something new to its guests, along the way.
Their new Sea Turtle Recovery facility doubles as an exhibit for the members of the public to see what exactly goes on in the process of rescuing and rehabilitating an amazing animal like a sea turtle.
The South Carolina Aquarium has over 200 rescues of these creatures under their belts since their first success story 17 years ago.
The $5.3 million upgrade to the aquarium is a good one— and a pretty necessary one, as well. Already in 2017, there have been 123 reported sea turtle strandings in South Carolina, and the expansion to the Aquarium’s facility will add almost double the capacity for sea turtle patients at the Aquarium.
They’ve received upgrades to their equipment, too, such as a CT scanner for diagnostic images of a turtle’s injuries, inside and out, and get a good estimate of what it would take to help them heal from those injuries. Another is the addition of a modern operating room, which along with the scanner gives the animal care teams the chance to help their patients without seeking outside equipment and resources.
An “endless pool” is another cool feature— making sure that a turtle can swim against the current created inside of the pool, so that the teams can be assured they’re read for any future release.
The Zucker Sea Turtle Recovery area will be visible to guests, as well as offering the chance for visitors to learn and see more of how the full process happens— and a chance for them to experience it themselves. “Interactive Mock Medical Stations” will be available as well as a Classroom and Object Theater for people to show how a recovering sea turtle’s journey happens at the SC Aquarium.