Sea Turtle’s Travels

Green Sea Turtle

Our Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas) got bored hanging around the Nature Center, so we all hopped in the Pelican Van and motored on out to Cabrillo Marine Aquarium’s  Autumn Sea Fair on November 19, 2017. Preferring to be chauffeured and wanting to share his adventure, he took Volunteers

Volunteers: Carolyn Vance, Patti Smith and Esther Cummings

Esther Cummings, Patti Smith, Carolyn Vance and Jillian Gallery along for the ride. He also brought along California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) and Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) (replica skulls) to show everyone he’s a vegetarian.

Turtle / Autumn Sea Fair

Once there, he basked in the attention of hundreds of children and adults, all wanting to check him out! He showed them his stubby “teeth”, which have finely serrated edges, like the teeth of a saw, which he uses to tear and eat the eel grass in the Refuge’s ponds.

Green, being a very generous sea turtle, gave the children posters of his friends, ocean fish, plus coloring and activity books to remember their visit with him. Their parents were told about all the fun learning to be had on the monthly Refuge Tour and were invited to come visit.

Dangers of Trash

“Trashy,” Trash Monster

Green was so very happy to see that the Aquarium warned everyone about the dangers of trash in the sea, and urged them to not throw plastic into his home. He put on a brave beak at the sight of Trash Monster, but with all of his old, and new friends, there to support him, he stared down Trashy.

After a long day at the Aquarium, Green was exhausted and glad to be back home, resting comfortably on top of his fur-topped shelf in the Nature Center. He knows the Refuge, with all the eel grass, is a good place for his relatives to eat and visit. He would just like to join them.

Come visit Green, and all the other fish, sea turtle, mammals, birds and humans at their home in our tidal salt marsh, here at the Seal Beach NWR.