There is a place on the Atlantic coast where injured and sick sea turtles are brought into a state-of-the-art facility and nursed back to health. They are provided their own saltwater tank to swim in, given a name and identity, and treated like valued patients. The public can come visit for free and learn about these sea patients while watching them in their recovery.
It’s Loggerhead Marinelife Center, one of Florida’s most-visited nonprofit scientific sites. I first learned about this place when it was voted the best free attraction in the U.S. in USA Today’s 2024 Readers’ Choice “10Best” list—beating such icons as the Golden Gate Bridge, the Boston’s Freedom Trail, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. And it’s not far away, in Juno Beach!
So I decided to go check out this impressive rehabilitation center with my son Jacob, who loves anything related to animals. We spent a half-day there, immersing ourselves in the wonders of the ocean and enjoying a place totally dedicated to sea turtle and ocean conservation. The center notes that visitors can “explore interactive exhibits, observe our sea turtle patients, and engage with marine experts”—and we did all three things.
Loggerhead Marinelife Center has been operating for over three decades. Its advanced hospital, founded by the Gray family, is a leading resource for sea turtle rehab. It includes a surgical suite, blood-work lab, and facilities for x-rays, endoscope, and ultrasound. The treatment protocol is to take turtle patients “from rescue to release,” with the plan of releasing them back into the ocean as soon as they are medically cleared.
When Jacob and I were visiting, we learned about sea turtles named Arugula, Willow, and Falafel. Each one had a sign on its tank with its name, age, date admitted, and a little story about what brought them there. For example, we learned that Arugula was a juvenile green sea turtle found entangled in a fishing line and suffering from fibropapillomatosis tumors. The hospital admitted the patient May 31, performed surgery to remove the tumors, gave Arugula antibiotics, and now was providing supportive care until it can return to the sea.
Some weeks after we visited, the center posted this on its website: “Public Sea Turtle Release: Join us as we say goodbye to sea turtle patient Willow. The release will take place on the beach behind the Center. Be sure to arrive early so you don’t miss out on the fun!”
I think it’s great that you can come see a turtle while it’s being actively treated, learn its story, and later watch it get released on the beach and return to where it came from.
Jacob and I also checked out a variety of exhibits there, including beautiful fish gliding around in salt-water aquaria, a huge, prehistoric Archelon sea turtle replica, displays of local wildlife, a glowing tank full of jellyfish, and educational exhibits about the marine environment of South Florida. We talked with some employees who were showing a range of turtle skulls on a table, providing us with fun facts.
We learned that Juno Beach is home to one of the largest loggerhead turtle populations in Florida, hence the name of the center. The beaches there host some of the highest-density sea turtle nesting in the world, and Loggerhead Marinelife Center researchers record each turtle nesting activity along 9.5 miles of beach adjacent to the center. Loggerheads range in size from 2.4 to 3.5 feet, and their name comes from their large block-like head. They also are protected under the Endangered Species Act.
The center receives sea turtles from their very start in life, too. It has on display a tank full of turtle hatchlings, which many kids were excited to gather around and observe while we were there. And outside in front of the entrance doors, there is a “Hatchling Holding Area,” which includes a large cooler left out so that if people find live hatchlings on the beach and bring them to the center after hours, they can place them in sand contained in the cooler—for safekeeping.
“If the hatchlings are on their way to the ocean, leave them alone. If they seem weak and confused, bring them to the Center,” the sign there says. “We appreciate your help saving our local sea turtles.”
What a wonderful system for some of our state’s natural wildlife.
Loggerhead Marinelife Center is open seven days a week, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, go to marinelife.org.