Where Education, Conservation, and Imagination Come Together: Sea Turtle Care Center at the South Carolina Aquarium
The SeatTurtle Care Center at the South Carolina Aquarium is made of a remarkable staff dedicated to the rehabilitation and release of our precious ocean friends. The center is open to the public with paid admission and has been an inspiration for visitors for many years.
Click Here to Purchase Tickets for your next South Carolina Aquarium Adventure
Did you know:
- 30-40 patients treated per year
- Daily treatment costs $35 per patient
- 359 sea turtles have been released as of 08/26/2022
All seven species of sea turtles are listed as threatened or endangered, four of which are found in South Carolina: loggerhead, Kemp’s ridley, green, and leatherback.
The Sea Turtle Care Center aids sick and injured sea turtles in partnership with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR).
When a sea turtle is found stranded or injured, SCDNR brings the animal to the Sea Turtle Care Center for treatment.
Sea turtles arrive at the Care Center suffering from a variety of ailments:
- Debilitated turtle syndrome
- Predation
- Boat strike wounds
- Injuries from accidental interactions with fishing gear
- Exposure to dangerously low temperatures
The incredible staff veterinarians diagnose each turtle and work with Care Center and volunteers to provide treatments and rehabilitative care. Patients are given IV fluids, antibiotics, vitamins, and other medications. Based on the sea turtle’s condition, a variety of procedures may be performed, such as x-rays, CT scans, or ultrasounds.
Rehabilitated sea turtles are released home in hopes that they will become reproductive members of the sea turtle population.
McNair Center for Sea Turtle Conservation and Research serves as the Aquarium’s in-house research facility specializing in sea turtle knowledge. For the benefit of researchers, and sea turtles, all over the world, we share what we’ve learned from 21 years of patient injuries and illnesses and present it to the scientific community.
The Zucker Family Sea Turtle Recovery area in the Aquarium is open to all guests and it makes the real-life rehabilitation of sick and injured sea turtles visible to every guest.
Interactive screens allow guests to read each current patient’s story and learn about the rehabilitation process.
Photos courtesy of South Carolina Aquarium
Charleston Daily
Charleston Daily is a concept in community. Its mission is to promote, assist, and celebrate in everything Charleston, South Carolina. By partnering with businesses, community leaders, volunteers and events, we are spreading the love that is Charleston. As this city continues to grow and prosper, we want to help spread the message to all about how wonderful this community is. Charleston is about the people, community, water, land, history, heritage and the true southern warmth it brings with each and every day.