About Us

Pressroom

Job Opportunities

Volunteer Opportunities

Web Site Info

Email | Print

<< View All New Releases

Associated Media

View Photo(s)

For More Information
Angela Hains, Public Relations Senior Associate Manager
(831) 647-6804
ahains@mbayaq.org

Jenny Slafkosky, Public Relations Administrative Coordinator
(831) 644-7522
jslafkosky@mbayaq.org

Karen Jeffries, Public Relations Manager
(831) 644-7548
kjeffries@mbayaq.org

10 Young Sea Turtles On Exhibit

07/01/2010

July 8 Update: Five more turtles added; 10 total.

On July 1st the Monterey Bay Aquarium placed five lively juvenile green sea turtles on exhibit as part of its “Hot Pink Flamingos: Stories of Hope in a Changing Sea” special exhibition. The young sea turtles are just under 9 months old and each is about the size of a dinner plate.

“I can’t help it – they’re cute!” said Senior Aquarist Veronica Franklin. “They’re also healthy, beautiful animals that we’re thrilled to share with our guests.”

Visitors can see the young sea turtles in “Hot Pink Flamingos,” which tells the untold story of global climate change and its impacts on ocean wildlife. The sea turtles are featured in a gallery that shows how rising temperatures could alter the gender of an incubating clutch of sea turtle eggs, or how rising sea levels threaten sea turtles’ nesting beaches.

“All sea turtles are listed as threatened or endangered, and face many challenges in the wild,” Franklin said. “The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico unfortunately reminds us how vulnerable these animals are.”

Franklin brought 10 young sea turtles to the aquarium on June 24 from SeaWorld San Diego, where they were among 82 hatchlings born October 5 to resident sea turtles in the park’s “Shipwreck Beach.” The sea turtles’ gender will remain a mystery until they mature a little more.

There’s more information online about their background, and how Franklin and her staff care for the turtles, at www.montereybayaquarium.org/exhibitupdates.

The young sea turtles at the aquarium will rotate between the exhibit and behind-the-scenes holding pools. The two larger turtles they replaced, as well as some of the smaller turtles, will be part of the aquarium’s remodeled “Open Sea” galleries that open in July 2011.

The mission of the Monterey Bay Aquarium is to inspire conservation of the oceans.

- 30 -

Inspiring Conservation of the Oceans