February 4, 2015 — New England Aquarium eventually triaged and treated 750 sea turtles, mostly endangered Kemp’s ridley, portioning them out to aquariums from Cape Cod to Florida for rehabilitation and eventual release back into the wild.
No. 33, now known as Larry Bird after the former Celtic star’s jersey number, was the first to arrive at the National Marine Life Center in Buzzards Bay. Two months into rehab, Bird seemed ready to take on the world again Tuesday. His banged up shell was healed and free of algae. He’d fought off a bacterial infection and doubled his body weight, and he was flying around the marine center turtle pool competing for the chunks of squid and mackerel tossed his way by animal techs.
“It’s amazing, the before-and-after from the time when you see them on the beach when they are half dead,” Allan said.
The Marine Life Center received 32 Kemp’s ridley turtles between Nov. 20 and Dec. 9. Twenty-seven survived and approximately half are nearing the time when they will be taken south to warmer waters.
Larry Bird’s name was chosen by a generous sponsor who contributed $500 to the life center. The last turtle to arrive there is still unnamed, known only as the No. 63 painted on its shell. It’s a larger sized Kemp’s ridley found on Eastham’s Campground Beach on Dec. 4 with a heart rate down to just three beats per minute and an internal body temperature of 53.5 degrees.
Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times