Carr, the 85 lbs. sea turtle, took the plunge into his new home, where he will join Benson, a 28 lbs. rescued sea turtle, in the aquarium’s ocean tank.
SEA LIFE Michigan Aquarium at Great Lakes Crossing Outlets celebrated its second anniversary with a splash by welcoming a new resident to its 120,000 gallon ocean tank: Carr the rescued Green Sea Turtle.
Weighing in at 85 lbs., Carr will join Benson, a 28 lbs. rescued sea turtle, who came to the AZA accredited aquarium in May of 2015. Carr was severely injured in a boat collision that resulted in a deformed carapace and persistent floatation issues. He was nursed to health by the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton, Florida, and made the journey to Michigan accompanied by rehab teams from Gumbo Limbo and SEA LIFE Michigan.
“At SEA LIFE, we are dedicated to conservation and protecting wildlife. We are so happy to welcome Carr and provide him with a safe and happy home with expert care,” said Kelli Cadenas, SEA LIFE Michigan curator. “We hope visiting Carr will enable our visitors to learn more about protection and conservation efforts of endangered animals worldwide and inspire them to take an active role in eliminating human threats.”
Although he is healthy and doing well, Carr is non-releasable, which means he will never be able to survive in the wild. Since arriving at the aquarium, Carr has received round-the-clock care and monitoring in a special med pool for a week and learned SEA LIFE Michigan’s target training feeding technique before being released into the ocean tank.
Sea turtles are an endangered species; only 1,000-10,000 of the turtle hatchlings born each year will survive to adulthood, according to the Sea Turtle Conservancy. They face not only natural threats from predators, but also human-caused threats such as commercial fishing, pollution, beach erosion and illegal hunting.
Kroger, one of the world’s largest grocery store chains, has donated $1500 toward Carr’s healthy eating plan, a diet currently consisting of fresh vegetables such as lettuce, cucumber and peppers.
For more information about SEA LIFE Michigan, please visit www.visitsealife.com/Michigan or www.facebook.com/SEALIFEMichigan.
About SEA LIFE Michigan
SEA LIFE Michigan is a 26,000-square-foot aquarium in Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Great Lakes Crossing Outlets. As the 7th SEA LIFE location in the United States, and the 42nd in the world, SEA LIFE Michigan features engaging, educational and one-of-a-kind experiences that bring guests nose-to-nose with more than 5,000 amazing creatures, including sharks, stingrays, jellyfish, sea horses and much, much more. SEA LIFE provides a glimpse of the diversity of marine life while also playing an active role in animal and environmental conservation. Visitors will see strong evidence of SEA LIFE’s Breed, Rescue and Protect activities around the world, including new projects developed locally. For more information, visit www.visitsealife.com.