Karen Sota

Our extended late summer weather has finally turned on us. This year we were happy to have that extra month because it allowed us to complete our renovations in record time and re-open for tours through the end of the year. And it gave one little green who got his release papers late in the season the chance to go home while the waters were still turtle tolerable.

“Mac & Cheese” was a bit of a miracle, as turtles who are trapped and submerged in a net for long periods of time generally do not make it. After his near-death experience, with lots of TLC, a variety of meds and a really good appetite this little guy surprised us all with a quick turnaround. On a drizzly day, with a roaring ocean, volunteer Jason suited up for battle and carried Mac&Cheese out past the breakers where he shot off in search of a winter home.

A few weeks earlier we had admitted “Sasquatch Socks,” a juvenile loggerhead who was enjoying lunch near the Sea View Pier in North Topsail Beach. Unfortunately, lunch came with a side of not only a lot of marine debris but one very large stainless-steel hook and several small ones. Although being hooked is not generally a good thing in this case it may have saved his life. He had a moderate load of barnacles and a fair amount of edema, so he was clearly headed downhill.

Sasquatch Socks had a line coming from his mouth but the hook itself was not visible. It was obvious that he was going to need intervention by the vets at CMAST to locate and extract what was at the end of that line. Radiographs showed a large hook deep in his esophagus, along with several small hooks. Surgery was performed and the hooks were successfully extracted. Although that issue was resolved he will be overwintering with us because his bloodwork is nowhere near where it should be. After a day or two with a sore throat he turned into a ravenous eater. He gets a big bowl of fatty fish every day and that’s one of the key components for a successful rehab.

Fishing gear entanglement, like Sasquatch Socks, plus cold weather is why we rely on the sharp eyes of our locals and visitors. Cold-stun season has officially arrived, so we expect to be getting calls about the critters who didn’t catch the last train out of Dodge. If you see a turtle that’s been injured, cold-stunned or stranded for any reason call our Director of Beach Operations, Terry Meyer at: 910-470-2880. If she is not available, you may call the hospital during operating hours: 910-329-0222. We will take the information and send trained volunteers to retrieve the turtle. The State of NC hotline for stranded, sick and injured turtles is 252-241-7367. The state number picks up 24/7. All conservation work for endangered sea turtles at KBSTRRC and on Topsail Island is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, ES Permit 22ST05.

Tours Resume: We’ve opened to the public on a contracted tour schedule. Dates: November 25 and 26 and December 4, 8, 14 and 17. Check the Visit page here on our website for times, as they vary. And we still require ticket purchases in advance on our site. Our gift shop is jam-packed with all kinds of merchandise for turtle lovers, and of course you can adopt one of our patients for those impossible-to-buy-for relatives and friends. You can shop during those days without taking the tour.

By Karen Sota

With cooler weather and a major renovation project in Sea Turtle Bay rapidly approaching we needed to get our flippers in gear to make sure every patient cleared for take-off made it to the beach ASAP. On October 12th with a glorious Carolina blue sky and a friendly ocean we bid a fond farewell to our last graduates for 2022.

Three juvenile greens, Belle, Magenta and Jazzberry Jam were the first to crest the walkover and stroll the runway (with a little help from our staff) for a final photo ops and royal waves of their flippers to the large crowd of fans lining the beach. Belle had an especially long recovery, having been admitted in early 2020 as a very sick little girl. She subsequently developed osteoarthritis which takes years to resolve even with the best care and medication. But she made it. She leaves behind her often-times “tank mate” Rosemary who will miss her dearly. Well, maybe not. Belle did have a habit of stealing Rosie’s veggies at every opportunity. Magenta and Jazzberry Jam, both local rescues from the Cape Lookout area were also released. Magenta was cold- stunned and anemic but tripled her admission weight in the space of six months. Jazzy had a run in with a shark that left her with a very large wound on her neck. It was touch and go, or for a while ”don’t touch” as the wound was pretty gnarly. But with a lot of specialized care, including honey treatments she made a complete recovery.

Two Kemp’s, Maddie and Black Pearl were next to meet the crowd. Black Pearl, also from the Cape Lookout area was the victim of a boat strike. In addition to the usual meds, she was also given the honey treatment along with physical therapy on her neck and flippers to get her in tip-top shape for her journey home. Maddie stranded in Massachusetts and arrived with a plane load of other cold-stuns. A definite favorite during public tours this little cutie also tripled her weight during her stay with us.

Finally, it was Copper’s turn. This juvenile loggerhead stranded in Wrightsville Beach after being accidentally hooked on a fishing line. Unfortunately, the hook had travelled into his esophagus and had to be surgically removed by the great vets at CMAST. Having a sore throat never affected his appetite as he was the first turtle to pop up in the morning with a big grin and a “got breakfast?” look on his face. He managed to convince Dr. Harms that was totally OK and ready to roll so roll he did, down the beach on our “turtle taxi” waving good-bye with his big boy flippers. Out of six turtles he seemed to be the most reluctant to actually leave us, taking a few steps and then turning around over and over to take one last look at the island before finally catching a wave and heading out. Bon voyage, class of 2022.

With fewer visitors to the island and our Topsail Turtle Project volunteers officially off-duty until next May we rely increasingly on our locals, anglers and boaters to notify us about any turtle in distress. If you see a turtle that’s been injured or stranded call our Director of Beach Operations, Terry Meyer at: 910-470-2880. If she is not available, you may call the hospital during operating hours: 910-329-0222. We will take the information and send trained volunteers to retrieve the turtle. The State of NC hotline for stranded, sick and injured turtles is 252-241-7367. The state number picks up 24/7. All conservation work for endangered sea turtles at KBSTRRC and on Topsail Island is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, ES Permit 22ST05.

Hospital closed for public tours. We are closed to the public at least through November 24th for facility improvements. If all goes well, we may be able to open for a few days in December. In the meantime, you can visit our gift shop and adopt a turtle on-line at our website reservations page. Check our Facebook page for the latest information and any updates on our progress.

By Karen Sota

​The last nest laid on Topsail has hatched and hopefully a good portion of those babies made it out to the Sargasso Sea where they’ll spend the next year or so. Our recent admits have been victims of entanglements with fishing gear, mostly nets, and boat strikes. Some will be with us over the winter but thankfully most of them are short-timers that we will release soon along with several patients already given their swimming papers by Dr. Harms.

We’re getting ready to close to the public to complete major renovations in our main area, Sea Turtle Bay. But you can’t safely do that kind of work if there are turtles swimming around with contractors on lifts replacing lights and refinishing the floor. Our remaining patients must be relocated to other parts of the hospital for about six weeks. Not a problem; we have the space and most of them are small. Lennie, our permanent resident will have her tank moved into Sick Bay. The others will join her and if it gets jampacked, we have two other turtle-friendly areas. That leaves one noticeably big challenge: Snooki.

This very special loggerhead lady tops three hundred pounds and lives in the largest tank we could get through our doors. But we have two issues with her tank: it won’t go through any other doors, and it also needs some touch-up work done before we move it back into Sea Turtle Bay. (Note: anybody used to working with fiberglass who can help us out - let’s talk!) Luckily the therapy pool in Sick Bay is almost the same size as Snooki’s tank so we’ll be moving her very, very carefully into that pool. But how, you ask.

Over the past month several of our staff have been spending time in the water with Snooki, getting her used to “company” and being closely handled by people. After some initial side-eye and a look of general amusement she decided they were there to entertain her, a new toy (in some cases toys) to play with. Soon we’ll introduce the sling that will fit under her and hope that she’s receptive to that. The plan is that when the day of the move arrives she will be used to not only swimming onto the sling but also comfortable with “her people.” Then it’s a matter of pure muscle to get her onto the turtle taxi, down the hall and into the therapy pool. That’s the plan and we hope Snooki will be on board, literally, when the day comes.

With fewer visitors to the island and our Topsail Turtle Project volunteers officially off-duty until next May we rely increasingly on our locals, anglers and boaters to notify us about any turtle in distress. If you see a turtle that’s been injured or stranded call our Director of Beach Operations, Terry Meyer at: 910-470-2880. If she is not available, you may call the hospital during operating hours: 910-329-0222. We will take the information and send trained volunteers to retrieve the turtle. The State of NC hotline for stranded, sick and injured turtles is 252-241-7367. The state number picks up 24/7. All conservation work for endangered sea turtles at KBSTRRC and on Topsail Island is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, ES Permit 22ST05.

Hospital tours end October 15th. Tours are Friday and Saturday from 11 AM – 2 PM. You must schedule and purchase your tickets in advance for a specific day and time through our website reservations page. We will be closed October 16th through November 24th for facility improvements. You can still visit our gift shop and adopt a turtle on-line at our website. 

By Karen Sota
 
With nesting season officially over, there are no more visits by turtle mamas until next year. From now on, hatchlings and our rehabilitated patients are outbound and headed to their preferred wintering waters.

Recently four turtles were released after undergoing complete examinations by Dr. Harms and the four fourth-year vet students who spent a few weeks with us. Each student was assigned several turtles as their case studies and did everything from help us with food prep, cleaning, and treatments to blood draws and radiographs. In two instances they provided a beauty treatment for Snooki and Lennie. In the ocean, Snooki and Lennie would be chowing down on crustaceans that would keep their beaks from overgrowing. But since we do not have a regular supply of oysters, clams, conch, and other crunchy stuff their beak can get big and raggedy. So how do you fix that? A PVC pipe to keep their mouth open (without biting us) and a Dremel with a grinding bit to smooth out the edges of their beaks. It probably annoys them but does not hurt them in any way.

After every turtle in our hospital was examined from beak to tail scute and scale three greens, Bittersweet, Eggplant, and Key Lime Pearl, and one Kemp’s, Antique Gray, were handed their swimming papers. It’s tradition that we let the vet students be the ones who get to release their patients. On a bright and sunny Thursday, we loaded everybody into our van and headed to a nearby beach access where only a handful of visitors were enjoying their day. By the time we unloaded the last turtle from the van the beach had filled up with about a hundred people who seemed to materialize out of thin air. There is no denying that these critters possess some kind of magic that instinctively draws people to them.

Our volunteers carried the lucky turtles up and down the rows for a final photo op before the three greens were handed off to the vet students who carried them into the surf and set them free. Antique Gray was lowered to the sand where she looked around for a final farewell before putting her flippers into gear and heading for the waves. She was a stunningly beautiful Kemp’s, and her coloring was quite unusual. She was truly antique gray.

Although our patient load is lighter, typical for this time of year, we still have a few more turtles who just missed the cut but should be willing to go before we close for tours in mid-October. Check our Facebook page in the coming weeks for any updates on their release.

Hospital tours ending soon. During September we will be open Thursday through Saturday from 11 AM – 2 PM. October 1st though the 15th tours are Friday and Saturday from 11 AM – 2 PM. You must schedule and purchase your tickets in advance for a specific day and time through our website Visit page. We will be closed October 16th through November 30th for an extensive renovation of our Sea Turtle Bay area and other facility upgrades
 
Nests are still hatching, and we are still admitting larger turtles for various illnesses and injuries so please continue to be our additional eyes for any hatchings or turtles in distress of any kind. With nests hatching all over the island it would be easy to miss one of the little guys who didn’t hear the alarm clock and leave the nest with his siblings. If you find a hatchling on the beach carefully pick it up and put it in a small container with some sand and a small amount of water - barely cover the flippers. With this continuing heat it’s important that the little critter not bake in the sun for hours. Then call our Director of Beach Operations, Terry Meyer at: 910-470-2880. If she is not available, you may call the hospital during operating hours: 910-329-0222. We will take the information and one of our area coordinators will meet you to retrieve the hatchling and refer it to us for follow-up. The State of NC hotline for stranded, sick and injured turtles is 252-241-7367. The state number picks up 24/7. All conservation work for endangered sea turtle at KBSTRRC and on Topsail Island is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, ES Permit 22ST05.

The second annual Surf to Sound 5K on September 17, 2022 was a tremendous success, welcoming over 500 registrants and raising over $14,000 to help the turtles! We are grateful to the participants, the sponsors, and the organizers. Thank you!

Thank you to our Generous Sponsors!
Title Sponsors

• Carolina Coast Contracting
• Coastal Carolina Real Estate

Packet Pickup Sponsor

• Salty Turtle Beer Company

Valued Sponsors

• Breakaway Fitness & Performance
• Daybreak Donuts
• Hardee's of Surf City
• Jackie and Jeff James
• Shaka Taco

The Surf to Sound 5K welcomes everyone, from experienced runners, to occasional joggers, to those simply looking for a fun walk across the Surf City Bridge. It's the perfect event to celebrate the landscape, businesses and community that make up Hampstead, Topsail Island, and Surf City. And, know that you are helping to save endangered sea turtles while doing so! Participants start in Soundside Park, then head across the Surf City Bridge and back to the island, while taking in the Topsail Sound and views of the Atlantic Ocean for 3.1 miles. 

Stay tuned for the third annual Surf to Sound 5K on September 16, 2023!

For information or to view photos from past events, visit: https://runsignup.com/Race/NC/SurfCity/SurftoSound5K.