Showing that each rescued animal matters
◀ RETURN TO CONSERVATION & SUSTAINABLE USE SECTION
◀ RETURN TO 2020 ANNUAL REPORT INDEX
- Mote’s Stranding Investigations Program and Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital staff responded to 285 sea turtles including 68 that were alive (23 rescued from local waters and 45 transferred to us from other facilities) and 217 turtles recovered deceased, allowing scientists to investigate what happened to them with the goal of benefiting future management, conservation and rescue efforts. The 68 live turtles included 11 loggerheads, 34 greens and 23 Kemp’s ridleys.
Starting in late July, the ongoing bloom of Florida red tide (Karenia brevis algae) demanded even longer hours and greater effort from Mote’s dedicated team. More than 180 of this year’s 285 turtles were reported to Mote over just three months, late July through late October.
Two turtles that Mote had previously rehabilitated and released with satellite transmitter tags to study their migrations—nicknamed JT and Bobby—stranded again due to red tide toxicity and were rescued by Mote this fall. Bobby originally came to Mote due to an earlier red tide exposure, and JT was originally rescued from entanglement in a crab trap. This fall and winter, Mote scientists rehabilitated and ultimately released both turtles, giving them not just a second chance, but a third chance to survive and continue contributing to their populations. JT received another satellite-linked tag—allowing him to continue providing valuable information about male loggerhead turtles, whose migration patterns remain mysterious: mote.org/seaturtletracking -
Mote’s team helped FWC rescue 15 live-stranded manatees and recover more than 30 deceased manatees this fiscal year.
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Perhaps the most adorable rescue of the year was the 44-pound manatee calf Piccolina, who was found orphaned and rescued by Mote and FWC during August 2021 in Venice, Florida. FWC transferred her to ZooTampa for rehabilitation with the goal of eventually returning her to Florida waters. As of December 2021, Piccolina had grown to 121 pounds and continued to be bottle fed.
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Mote also responded to 11 dolphins during the fiscal year. At least six of them had concentrations of Florida red tide toxins in their tissues, and four of them in high enough concentrations to contribute to their deaths.
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During the past 35 years, the No. 1 cause of death for Sarasota Bay dolphins was fishing gear—which can entangle, hook or be ingested by dolphins—according to analyses by Mote and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) using stranding response data from 1985–2020, with SDRP determining which dolphins to include. Of the 94 dolphins whose cause of death was determined by scientists, 26% died from human impacts, primarily fishing gear.
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For dolphins rescued from entanglements in fishing gear and other marine debris, this year also brought good news. 92% of dolphins rescued from entanglement survived for at least six weeks, and more than half continued to be observed in good health for the long term, according to a peer-reviewed, published study of 27 dolphins led by SDRP with Mote and multiple other partners. The study, “Staying Alive: Long-Term Success of Bottlenose Dolphin Interventions in Southwest Florida,” published this year in Frontiers in Marine Science, affirms the value of multi-partner efforts to detect and disentangle dolphins before they strand, showing that some rescued animals can continue contributing to their populations for years to come, leveraging additional population growth.
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Thanks to NOAA’s John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant awarded to our team, Mote provided hands-on support and funding for the recovery of two large, deceased whales this year. As part of one of those efforts, Mote staff participated in the necropsy (animal autopsy) of a sperm whale in the Florida Panhandle, with help from another grant provided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. This year, Mote’s hospital team is also thankful for a grant from the Sea Turtle Grants Program supported by sales of the Sea Turtle Specialty License Plate, which allowed us to purchase a new surgical laser for treating fibropapilloma tumors in sea turtles. Mote is one of the few Florida facilities qualified to treat turtles with these tumors, which are caused by a virus and can be fatal.