Featured Image Credit: Chesapeake Bay Magazine
By: Laura O’Brien
The Loggerhead Head Start Program, run by the Pine Knoll shores location of the North Carolina Aquarium, facilitates the healthy growth of young loggerhead sea turtles by allowing aquariums all over the US to “host a hatchling”. This program allows the young and endangered sea turtles to grow for a year before being released back into the wild. Sea turtle hatchlings are incredibly vulnerable and have many predators, so just one year of growth for them can dramatically increase their chances of survival.
One of the lucky hatchlings who entered this program was released recently! Her name is Raven, and she spent her year of growth at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. When the tiny sea turtle first reached the National Aquarium, she was only 0.2 pounds and 3.5 inches. When she was released, she had grown to be 5.8 pounds and 10.6 inches long.
Access to lots of food, and the safety of the aquarium gave Raven the resources she needed in order to be a healthy turtle who we hope will live a long, happy life. She was released 10 miles offshore along with 26 other turtles in North Carolina. The Loggerhead Head Start Program promises to help loggerheads bounce back, and the National Aquarium in Baltimore played a key role in helping this endangered species.
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