Only A Few Days Left To Say Goodbye To Baby Sea Turtle In Norwalk

NORWALK, CT — Stop by the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk soon for a final chance to say farewell to a little sea turtle named Squirt that spent its first formative year on display in the South Norwalk attraction.

According to a news release, the little loggerhead’s last day in the Aquarium is Saturday, Oct. 13. Early the next day, aquarium staff will begin driving the turtle back to North Carolina – where it hatched in September 2017 – for a celebratory mid-week release into the Atlantic.

“Well we all have mixed emotions about this one,” Aquarium spokesman Dave Sigworth said in a release. “Our guests and staff have loved having Squirt here and watching it grow. Saying goodbye is always sad, but we’re also excited for Squirt to return to the ocean and to eventually become part of the important process of making more sea turtles.”

The Maritime Aquarium began fostering Squirt last October as part of a loan program based out of the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores, whose staff and volunteers inspect turtle nests on beaches to look for newly hatched turtles that, for various reasons, didn’t make it out of nests. These young turtles are rescued and some are raised at loan institutions, such as the Maritime Aquarium, before being returned to North Carolina the following year for release into the Atlantic.

Squirt was named through a vote by the aquarium’s Facebook friends. Its sex is not known, because the sex of sea turtles doesn’t become obvious until the animals reach their teen years. (Loggerheads can live to 70-plus years.)

When Squirt arrived in Norwalk a year ago, it would have easily fit into the palm of your hand. It weighed about 3 ounces, and its shell was about 3 inches long (head to tail). Today, Squirt is bigger than a dinner plate, weighing about seven pounds with a shell that’s a foot long.

“Thanks to having a year of safe growth, Squirt will go into the ocean less likely to be preyed upon, compared to newly hatched turtles,” Director of Animal Husbandry Barrett Christie said in a release. “So we have given Squirt a better chance for survival, and – through its exhibit – have had an engaging reason to talk about sea turtle conservation with our guests.”

Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) generally grow to weigh about 300 pounds and are found around the globe in nine “distinct population segments.” Five of the populations are considered to be endangered, and the other four – including the loggerheads off the U.S. Atlantic coast – are considered threatened.

Their biggest threats are from coastal development that destroys nesting habitats and from accidental capture in fishing gear.

Unfortunately, the loan program that allowed Squirt to come to Norwalk is being discontinued by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Although Squirt is departing and will not be replaced by a new hatchling, the aquarium continues to display two large green sea turtles, which cannot be released into the ocean.

Learn more about the aquarium’s animals, exhibits and other attractions at www.maritimeaquarium.org.

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