This is a sea turtle hospital and rehabilitation center just south of Jupiter, FL, on U.S. Highway 1. There is no cost for visiting here, but donations are welcome.
Actually, I have visited this place three times in the last 13 years. The first time was when the old center was there, but the second time about four or five years ago, half of it was newly constructed and half was still under construction. The big tanks were temporarily in the new office area. I visited this place today for the third time because I wanted to see the finished center, and it was well worth the trip.
There are two parking areas, a smaller one along Highway 1, and a larger lot in the back along Ocean Drive, facing the beach. I parked in the larger one because my vehicles takes up several spaces, and I was concerned that the front lot would be too cramped. It was a good decision, even if I had to walk all the way around the building to find an entrance. If both these lots are full, there is a small shopping mall across Highway 1, and another down a side street.
Every turtle has his or her name painted on his back so he can be positively identified.
There are a lot of available pools for turtles that might be brought in on short notice. Last week they received 25 juvenile sea turtles from a turtle hospital in New England that had 600 turtles brought in with frostbite and was only able to handle 400. They made calls to a lot of other turtle sanctuaries in warmer places such as Florida and shipped the juveniles out by plane. Once they are healed, in about two week, they will be dropped off at Canaveral which is warmer than where they came from!
This sign identifies the turtle above, which was one of the turtles sent from New England. They don't need any treatment other than some antibiotics, pain control, and warmer water for a while.
This turtle has been here for a few weeks. It lost part of its left front flipper to a shark attack, but seems to be able to swim and catch fish, so it also will be released after a few weeks of healing of its bad flipper.
Who is looking at who?
This sign describes the above turtle.
About half of these tanks were empty, which is good because they can accept more turtles.
I thought this skeleton of a sea turtle was interesting because you can tell that their shell was part of their ribs and other bones, not just something separate stuck onto their bodies. That is why they can feel when you touch their shells or brush them with a stiff brush.
The next three images are of the three main types of turtles housed here" Green, Leatherback, and Loggerhead.
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