Tag: sea turtles

Bindi and Terri take us on a tour around the Sea Turtle Recovery Centre. Get a behind the scenes look at how it works while meeting a few cute patients along the way!

Our vet staff recently examined a Kemp’s ridley that was accidentally caught on a fishing line and reexamined 10 green sea turtles who were cold stunned when freezing temperatures hit our area earlier this year. Two of them were cleared to be released into the wild that day while the others continued to receive medical care until they were ready to be released.

Every time you visit the Zoo, you’re helping us save sea turtles in the wild. On Saturday, March 20, the Houston Zoo released 14 endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles into the Gulf of Mexico. These turtles were part of the sea turtle rescue flight from Cape Cod, Mass. in December 2020. Read more about the release in our latest blog post: bit.ly/3f2imP8

As Spring Break kicked off this past weekend, six green sea turtles were released back into the wild in the Gulf of Mexico. The Houston Zoo’s veterinary staff oversaw the care and treatment of these turtles, providing them with physical exams and antibiotics before they spent time recovering in Galveston with our partners at Texas A&M University at Galveston’s Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research. You can help save sea turtles by reducing your single-use plastics and picking up any debris you see along the Galveston beach this Spring Break.

Last week, as Texas experienced unprecedented freezing conditions from Winter Storm Uri, 37 green sea turtles were rescued along the Texas coast. Working with our partners at Texas A&M Galveston, the Houston Zoo’s veterinary staff were responsible for overseeing the care and treatment of these wild sea turtles before they can be released back into the wild. After evaluation, 25 of the recovered sea turtles were released back into the warmer waters in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday, Feb. 21.