Meet Ari our Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) sea turtle. Ari - formerly known as Kate - arrived at the New England Aquarium on 9/9/09, after a rehabilitation stint in New Orleans at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas (AAOA).


In June of 2007, Kate was found injured (suspected boat strike) on Rutherford Beach, Louisiana, and transferred to Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and the following day to AAOA.  Her injuries were assessed: fractured skull from eye to eye, left eye with missing tissue around the socket, an exposed salt gland, and a deep 5cm long dorsal scute laceration. In October she was transported to an orthopedic surgeon for an operation using rods and plates to pull the skull and scales up and together, in addition to have the laceration to her shell wired together.  By January of 2008, Kate was swimming and eating on her own!

The damage to her left eye was severe and permanent, and in the end she lost sight in that eye, making it very difficult for her to hunt live crab and capture it. Therefore, it was deemed she was non-releasable due to the fact that she could not fend for herself in the wild.

Word of this sea turtle needing a home made it to Boston, and before long she was on a flight to Logan airport for her introduction into the GOT!  So that's how we came to acquire Kate, whom we renamed Ari which is short for arribada: large-scale nesting of some species of sea turtles including Kemp's ridleys.

"During an arribada, hundreds of thousands of these 2-foot-long turtles (the smallest [sea turtles] in the world) gather off certain beaches, and over several days, come ashore to dig holes in the sand and lay eggs." — Susan Scott, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 28 Sept. 2009

Come see her swimming around the Giant Ocean Tank... if she's not napping of course ;-)



Kemp's ridley sea turtles are the smallest and most endangered species of sea turtle in the world. They are also the species of sea turtle our marine animal Rescue and Rehabilitation team treats most frequently during cold-stun stranding season. That's why it's great to be able to show visitors what this species looks like! They are much more petite than the other species on exhibit—loggerhead and green sea turtles. And Ari definitely has a personality.

Come meet Ari and learn what it takes to rescue sea turtles during our Turtle Rescue Team program this summer!

-Chris

If you stand at the top of the Giant Ocean Tank for any length of time, you'll likely hear the hiss and huff of a sea turtle taking a breath.

Ari the Kemp's ridley turtle breaks the surface for a breath

Seeing a turtle break the surface to breathe is an interesting way to connect with these giant reptiles. They are the only air breathers inside the exhibit—like us!—so they must return to the surface every now and then for a gulp of oxygen.

But here's something you don't usually see. This is what it looks like from the divers' perspective! Retread—our blind, rescued sea turtle—bumbles her way to the surface for a breath of fresh air.



Sea turtles breathe air into and out of their lungs through their nose and mouth. Our large turtles can hold their breath for several hours when they're resting (don't worry, that motionless sea turtle wedged in the coral is just napping).

Zzzzz. This motionless turtle at the bottom of the tank is taking a nice, cozy nap.

When they're active for feeding or checking on the divers in the tank, the turtles breathe more frequently. Try standing at the top of the GOT for a spell and see if you can see all four sea turtles!

Retread (loggerhead) and Myrtle (green)

The Aquarium has its own Animal Health Department, with veterinarians on staff.  Weekly, we have rounds with them to update each other on the health of our fish and turtles, and review medical cases and determine if we need to pull any of the critters out for checkups.  But... sometimes it's just easier to perform these exams underwater!

That's where Julie the vet comes in.  She's a certified scientific diver and joined us in the tank at the 10:00 dive—our first dive of the day. We had a short list of patients written out on an underwater slate, two of them being Ari our Kemp's ridley sea turtle and Myrtle the green sea turtle (who always seems to be involved with everything), as seen in this video:



It wasn't just turtles that needed attention.  Some fish were on the list too, including a couple of our green moray eels (stay tuned for an upcoming moray blog post) and a trunkfish who is being treated for a facial lesion and lives in one of our acclimation barrels temporarily.

Getting a close look at a trunkfish patient

Thanks to our vet staff for keeping our animals healthy :-)

At the end of April all of the Giant Ocean Tank sea turtles were given their spring exams. All four of our sea turtles were lifted out of the GOT so that our Animal Health team could take a closer look and collect blood samples.

First up: our 500-lb green sea turtle Myrtle. Sometimes Myrtle needs a little encouragement to enter into her lifting box and a leaf of romaine lettuce works every time!

Once in the lifting box Myrtle is brought out of the water for her exam

A young visitor helps our veterinarians get a closer look at Myrtle by holding a flashlight

Sea turtles have tough skin that can make drawing blood a real challenge. But Myrtle does a great job staying calm to allow our veterinarians to collect a sample

After getting her check up Myrtle is returned to her home in the Giant Ocean Tank

 Next is our Kemp's ridley sea turtle, Ari.

Ari is much smaller than Myrtle but she isn't a baby. Rather Ari is a completely different species of sea turtle

Ari was very patient with us during her exam

Finally our two loggerhead sea turtles Carolina and Retread have their turn.

Carolina and Retread look very similar but their shells have different patterns which help us tell them apart

Drawing blood from Retread required a few extra hands to help keep her steady, but after a brief moment she was all done

Overall it was a very successful morning and all four of our turtles were given a clean bill of health!

All the turtles are healthy and back swimming in the Giant Ocean Tank!

Unlike some of her larger turtle friends, Ari is generally a well-behaved patient

Blood draw

One of the things that we learned from recent past blood tests is that her hormone levels are higher than normal, which could be the cause of her current extended fast.  Therefore, she received implants for attempted suppression of ovarian activity, one in each shoulder.  Hopefully this will bring back her appetite.
 

Receiving her deslorelin implants

Ready to return to the tank Ari?

Kemp's Ridley, Lepidochelys kempii, is listed as critically endangered.  Ari is living in the GOT only because she would not be able to survive in the wild.  We are fortunate to have her because it gives visitors a reason to learn about them and potentially become stewards for their survival.

Unlike Myrtle, she fits in the "turtle box" with plenty of room to spare

Intern Alex and aquarist Sherrie moving Ari back into the GOT

Having her picture taken by a visitor

Ari is back in the tank safe and sound and continuing to wow the visitors (with her abilities to nap).

Thanksgiving day at the Aquarium is like no other day of the year... it's a ghost town!

We may be closed, but the fish and other animals don't know that. It's business as usual with staff and volunteers working before having turkey (or tofurkey) dinners with their families.



Happy Thanksgiving from the GOT divers!

I am back from my leave, and so very lucky to be here for Ari's first swim in the Giant Ocean Tank. It was a long road to recovery for her--almost 2 1/2 years from the time she was found on a beach in Louisiana to now.








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Today Ari the Kemp's ridley sea turtle made her successful debut in the Giant Ocean Tank (GOT)! Thanks to all of the hundreds of people who submitted names and the thousands of you who voted for their favorite name.


Ari in her new home at the Aquarium

Ari's name has a great conservation message, because it is short for "arribada," which is the massive arrival of female sea turtles to nest. This mostly happens on the beaches of Rancho Nuevo, Mexico, and protecting these nesting areas is extremely important for the protection of the species. Now every time someone asks what Ari's name is, our educators will be able to tell that story!



Ari is such a good name, that a lot of people suggested it. Since we could only have one winner, we selected the person who gave the best description of what an arribada is. That was Sharon B., but some of the other contestants who entered this name include Jenny T., Cathy F., Carole S., Michael N., Ryan B., Helen Z., Dominika, Sam P., Melissa V., Julia, Jack and Alison P., Alex S., Aaron P., Romy M., Jake S., Jenn G., Danielle D., Cindy S., Ashlee D., Norma R., Judi O., Connie B., Junior G. and Steph. Great work, everyone!



We also received some great entries from families who came together to think of great turtle names. Thanks to Molly, Rob, Bo, Callie, Ned and Colin for sending us your entries, and we hope you have fun seeing all the turtles in the GOT during your next visit!



In the meantime, Ari is getting used to her new home, and we'll be keeping you updated on other GOT happenings.