Erika -- our sea turtle

What a network we have! Since the post yesterday, some additional information has come in via email from our caring teachers. Please read on for more information about Erika.

This message was passed along to Heidi:
"She has a tear in her lung which is causing air to escape in the coelomic cavity. So far we have done numerous aspirations and she seems to be refilling almost immediately so it must be a fairly large tear. Yesterday (July 24) for the first time, after removing about 12,000 ml of air, she seemed to be less bouyant in the water. She is not eating so we are tube feeding her and giving her fluids intracoelomically. She is still in fairly good body condition and her blood work is still in the normal range. Thank you for helping Erika and your continued support. Terry Norton, DVM"

Lisa passed along this great news:
"I have seen her. She looks good. The center is about 30 mins. from my home. She probably will be released with a tracker. Watch the website as she will come up for adoption soon. The more people who adopt her the better her chances of getting the tracking system. Since she was transported so far from her nesting site, she will return there. I have spoken to the center about our classes being able to track her on the web. I think it would be a great learning experience to watch her progress back to where she came from."

Update on the sea turtle

During the last day of our Summer Science Institute, Aquatic Systems, the teachers were exploring the coastal water system of Cedar Key. They had the opportunity to venture out aboard one of UF's research vessels. Off the shore of Seahorse Key, they spotted a sea turtle who was unable to submerge. After the proper calls were made, the teachers and a UF biologist brought the sea turtle to UF. She was then transported to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center after her brief stop at UF.

This was the message from Dr. Foley from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission:
“The turtle arrived safely at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center at 7:30 and still seemed to be doing well.
This turtle should soon appear on the current patient list on the GSTC website –
http://www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org/our-patients/sea-turtle-patients/current-patients/”

She has been named Erica, weighing in at 202lbs. They believe she has an infection and are treating her with antibiotics and lots of good care. Her page isn’t up yet, but we’ll keep an eye out!