"ARK Turtle Release Report"
Posted: May 19, 2008

On May 17th Tony Amos, director of the ARK, was joined by volunteers at marker 35 on the beach for a release of rehabilitated turtles. Approximately 200 supporters were present for this exciting and educational event. 

The event began with Master Sculptor Mark Landrum teaching children how to make sand turtles. Mark kept the crowd entertained until the trucks with the turtles arrived.

2 turtles were released back to the ocean:

• Lump - a 20 year old Loggerhead weighing 252 lbs. Lump had been found floating in Redfish Bay in Aransas Pass. He was rehabilitated at the ARK for one year and was treated for an infection.
• Tivoli - a 142 lbs Loggerhead found in Lavaca Bay. He was treated at the ARK for one year. When found, he was a "floater" as are 90% of the turtle patients at the ARK.

A third turtle named Petunia, a Hawksbill, was also scheduled to be part of the release. She was found in 2004 weighing only 9 lbs. At that time she was treated, tagged and released. Several months ago she was rescued again, this time weighing 33 lbs. Petunia was treated again and sent back to the ocean, only to swim parallel to the shore. After a short distance Xavier Harrison, a Friends of the ARK volunteer, realized she was in trouble and retrieved her from the ocean. She is now back at the ARK for continued observation.

Here are some photos from the event. Click a picture to see an enlargement.

Turtle Trails 2008 will be featuring the next Hatching on Friday, May 23rd, at Gulf Shores Condominium, 6021 State Hwy 361, Port Aransas.

Please join us from 5:30 pm until 7:30 pm for a poolside cocktail party and see the latest released artistic turtles that will be up for auction on November 8th.

"Did You Know"
Updated: May 19, 2008

Did you know that there are two ways to reach our site? You can use either of these web addresses:  http://www.friendsoftheark.com or http://www.friendsoftheark.org.