OdySea Aquarium welcomes two endangered sea turtles
OdySea Aquarium has housed two new hard-shelled friends.
Teddy and Pow Pow, two male Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, arrived at the OdySea Aquarium located near Scottsdale after a brief stint at SeaWorld Orlando.
Theodore and Powell are both 43 years old.
What are Kemp’s ridley sea turtles?
This species is critically endangered, making them one of the most endangered sea turtle species in the world.
But, with about 7,000 to 9,000 of these turtles in the wild today, the species has made a steady comeback from near extinction in the 1980s when only 200 turtles were left in the wild.
Kemp’s ridley turtles are also famous for being the smallest sea turtles in the world, only measuring 2 feet in length and weighing between 70 and 100 pounds in adulthood.
They are also the only type of sea turtle native to North America, as they can be found near the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.
Teddy and Pow Pow were first bred through a breeding program at the Grand Cayman Island’s Cayman Turtle Centre in 1980. Then, after a process that took more than four decades, these turtles were quarantined at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, before being transported to Scottsdale.
“Teddy and Pow Pow inspire us all to protect and preserve our oceans, ensuring a brighter future for all sea turtle species,” Dave Peranteau, director of animal care and conservation at OdySea Aquarium, said in an emailed news release.
The turtles were flown to Scottsdale by the organization Turtles Fly Too, which flies cold-stunned turtles from the Northeast to warmer climates in order to be rehabilitated and released back into the wild.
How many sea turtles reside at OdySea?
With Teddy and Pow Pow, OdySea now has eight sea turtles among its ranks.
For more information about visiting Scottsdale’s newest residents and to purchase admission tickets, go to www.odyseaaquarium.com.