Goodbye, Connor! Sea turtle release on Longboat Key

Connor, an adult male loggerhead sea turtle, returned to the Gulf of Mexico after several months of recovery at Mote's Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital, but not before he received some very special "jewelry" for his journey—a satellite tag that will allow Mote scientists to continue to track Connor's...

A busy season at Mote’s Hatchling Hospital

Rescued sea turtle hatchlings have received plenty of TLC in Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium’s Hatchling Hospital during summer and early fall 2020. As September drew to a close, Mote staff reported that 1,400 of these baby sea turtles have completed their hospital stay and returned to the ocean. Green...

Sea turtle released after rehab at Mot

So long, Chipi! Despite some changes to Mote operations, Mote’s hospital team is still dedicated to saving local marine life. March 2020: we’ll remember it as the month that Mote Aquarium closed for the safety of our staff, volunteers, and guests in the face of the spread of COVID-19, the infectious...

Eight endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles released

On Feb. 1, Mote Marine Laboratory released eight Kemp’s ridley sea turtles from Mote’s Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital. These turtles, plus a ninth Kemp’s and one green sea turtle still at Mote, came to Florida on Dec. 8 as part of a team effort to rehabilitate 46 cold-stunned turtles initially...