The Turtle Hospital, Marathon, FL - March 5, 2011

Modern man's relationship with the rest of the animal kingdom is such a disturbing conundrum.  It's acceptable to use or abuse, eat, hunt or keep animals in any way we see fit until a species dwindles to the point of near extinction and then we deploy extraordinary resources and demonstrate boundless compassion to try and save the very species we have just finished systematically decimating.  In the web of life we've positioned ourselves as the black widow.

The decline of the world's sea turtle population is a tragic case in point.  Sea turtles have been thriving in Earth's oceans for over 200 million years. They are survivors of the Triassic Period, co-inhabitants of the dinosaurs.  There are seven species worldwide, five of which are found in Florida waters, and all seven species are now severely endangered and in decline.  There is a high probability that by the end of this century one or all may be extinct.

Prehistorically an adult sea turtle was so massive, mobile and well armored that their only real predators were large sharks.  They prospered and reached populations in tropical regions of staggering numbers.  With the dawn of Homo sapiens, a new predator came on the scene, hunting sea turtles for food and gathering their eggs along the shore but lacking the technology to significantly impact their numbers.  With the advent of the age of sail and European world exploration that all began to change.  Turtles were hunted in the open ocean for their tortoiseshell and leather while the meat became a major food source for the crews of thousands of seafaring vessels as well as those colonizing distant islands. In short order, world populations began to decline.

Today, sea turtle are under a relentless multi-prong assault for which their ancient evolutionary development has left them totally unprepared.  Ubiquitous plastic, cigarette filters and fish hooks (all of which they ingest), monofilament line, ropes and nets (in which they become entangled and are maimed or drowned), boat collisions, pollution, oil spills, chemical toxins, commercial hunting and the loss of critical nesting habitat have decimated their numbers.  Add to this a recent outbreak of a herpes-like virus that causes debilitating fibropapilloma tumors on their flippers, heads and internal organs and you begin to get a sense of the magnitude of the disaster.

Turtle Hospital ambulance

So its man to the rescue.  Marathon is home to a state-of-the-art turtle hospital equipped with all the high technology of a modern hospital emergency room and operating theater.  Sick and injured sea turtles from throughout the gulf region are rushed to the facility for treatment (three arrived today), rehabilitation and eventual re-release into the wild when feasible.  Saving a single turtle can take not weeks or months but years of painstaking attention by a highly motivated and dedicated staff of veterinary professionals, rehabilitation specialists and committed volunteers. And while the results are rewarding, and the need is great and increasing, unless the root causes of their impending demise are addressed, all may be to little to late. I personally don't see a significant decrease in any of these deadly ocean intrusions and contaminants on the horizon.

So my visit to the Turtle Hospital, while highly educational, was very much a bitter-sweet experience.  I walked past tank after tank of sick and injured turtles, heartbreaking in their innocence.  Many were deformed, some partially paralyzed, others had amputated limbs, some were bloated with gas from impacted digestive tracts while others were recovering from surgery or treatment and progressing toward eventual release.  

It was hard to know what to make of it all.  I couldn't help but admire the facility and the scope of the humane rescue effort being undertaken.  It's also apparent that the hospital is making significant progress in raising local awareness of the crisis.  But in reflection it all seems to be a rear guard action mounted too late against overwhelming forces that man has unleashed on the world's oceans.  In spite of the financial contribution that I made to this highly worthy nonprofit organization, as a boat owner and consumer, I came away feeling more like the problem than the solution. 

 All this debris was eaten by a single loggerhead turtle who died from the blockage it caused in its intestines.

X-rays showing: upper left - ingested plastic; upper right - severed flipper from line entanglement; lower left- triple sport fishing hooks lodged in throat; lower right - commercial fishing hook lodged in bowels.

Green turtle recovering from a boat propeller strike to the shell.

Green turtle recovering from removal of multiple tumors.