Mote Marine Aquarium Hosts Edgar the Sea Turtle

Edgar Photo: Mote Marine Aquarium

LONGBOAT KEY -- Mote Marine Aquarium is celebrating Edgar the sea turtle’s 18th birthday celebration Sept 15 by having a training session and with the lovable reptile and cupcakes for all.

Don’t let the name fool you, the juvenile loggerhead sea turtle is a she.

”When sea turtles are very young, we can’t really determine their sex. This one turned out to be female after we had already named her,“ said Hayley Rutger, who does Public Relations for Mote Marine.

Edgar is the only captive adult sea turtle to come to Mote as a hatchling. She was found in 1992 by members of Mote’s Sea Turtle Conservation Program who monitor more than 30 miles of Southwest Florida beaches for sea turtle activity during nesting season.

Volunteers and staff walk the beaches to determine the number of turtle nests and hatchlings during this time. They are responsible for setting up devices to make sure that nests are protected from harm. Part of that work involves excavating nests where hatchlings have emerged, to make sure there are no turtles left behind.

Any hatchlings that seem to suffer from problems are brought back to the lab and monitored. After they are rehabilitated, they are usually released back into the wild.

”She was a lethargic little hatching and wasn’t making it to the water,“ said Rutger, ”they brought her back to monitor her.“

Hatchlings Photo: Mary Lou Johnson Photography

The baby turtle had other issues as well, not only was she not eating, but she had an unusual skin pigmentation causing her coloring to be lighter than normal. The infliction could have made her vulnerable to predators by preventing her from cryptic camouflaging -- the simplest form of protection for an animal is to be a color similar to its surroundings.

Edgar also ran the risk of being sunburned. The pigment melanin , which adds color to the hair, skin, and eyes is what albinos lack. The pigment acts as protection against ultraviolet rays for animals with color. Because these colorless animals do not have this pigment, their skin is more subject to burning with less exposure to sunlight. Long-term exposure can lead to skin cancer. It is not known how common this genetic abnormality is, but light skin pigmentation is present in a variety of species such as mammals, birds, reptiles and even fish.

”Since it is a genetic mutation, a lot of times they will have other health problems,“ said Rutger. ”Her color made her a sitting duck in the environment.“

This turtle was deemed unreleasable by state officials and has been living at Mote ever since. Edgar helped animal care experts learn how to feed baby turtles, which enables staff to take care of other sick hatchlings until they can be released.

Attending guests will be able to see Shelly and Montego, two other loggerhead turtles that were raised as hatchlings at a different facility. There are also a couple of green sub-adult turtles that are rehabilitation cases present at the facility. Any hatchlings that are being rehabilitated will also be viewable by guests.

Turtle-themed cupcakes will be provided by Cupcakes a Go-Go and there will be several family-friendly activities. Visitors will meet Mote mascots Gilly the Shark and Shelly the Sea Turtle.

The party will be held at Mote's Goldstein Marine Mammal Building1703 Ken Thompson Parkway. For more information call 941-388-4441 or email info@mote.org.