Sponsor the Care of Tahiti
By sponsoring the care of sea turtle Tahiti you'll be supporting the Sea Turtle Hospital and the work we do to research, rehab and release these amazing animals. Your sponsorship can provide Tahiti important medical supplies, nutritious food, critical exams and other types of care provided while at the Sea Turtle Hospital.
Suggested amount to sponsor the care of a turtle is $50. We appreciate gifts above $50 as well.
For joining us, you'll receive:
- A personalized certificate and choice to have it mailed to your home or emailed
- A monthly email update
- Advance notice of the turtle’s release (attendance at release not guaranteed)
You can even give a turtle sponsorship as a gift!
Please allow 2 weeks for mailed certificate to arrive. Emailed certificates sent within 3-4 business days.
For questions about sponsoring, please contact wlmb@whitney.ufl.edu.
Tahiti's Story
Meet “Tahiti” with quite the story.
On May 18th our team admitted a juvenile green sea turtle that had been accidentally caught on hook and line at Huguenot Memorial Park in Duval County. Thanks to the quick thinking and responsible actions of the fisherman, this story has a happy ending.
Tahiti had accidently swallowed the fishing hook, but the fisherman cut the line with enough slack and secured it to the top of the Tahiti’s carapace—an incredibly important step that prevented further internal damage and made safe transport possible.
Shortly after arriving to our hospital, Dr Brooke performed a comprehensive veterinary exam which included bloodwork and radiographs. Luckily, bloodwork values were within normal limits suggesting that Tahiti was healthy. However, to our surprise after taking X-rays, we discovered that this turtle was a repeat offender—with not one, but three hooks lodged in its esophagus from previous encounters. Since the responsible person who was last to accidentally hooked Tahiti and followed the responsible actions of what to do when this happens, Dr. Brooke was able to successfully remove all three hooks through a minor surgery.
Tahiti recovered well from surgery and was introduced into one of our rehab tanks shortly after surgery. Within 48 hours, Tahiti was readily eating their seafood diet and has recently been sampling their greens which is great news for recovery.
Tahiti will remain in our care throughout the next several weeks to allow the surgical sight to completely heal. Thanks for sponsoring this special turtles journey and learning more about how you can help save other sea turtles like Tahiti that are accidentally caught on hook and line.
Important information to share:
- If you accidentally hook a sea turtle, never try to remove the hook yourself. Instead, cut the line—leaving at least 2 feet of slack, secure the line to the animals carapace (top part of shell)—and call FWCC 1-888-404-3922
- Responsible actions like this can save a turtle’s life. Had the line been cut too short, or had the turtle been released with the hook still embedded, it could have led to major surgery—or worse, death.
We’re hopeful for a smooth recovery for this resilient turtle, and we’re so grateful for those who do their part to protect our marine wildlife.