A rescued and rehabilitated Kemp’s ridley sea turtle named “Pecorino” swam into his new home in the National Aquarium’s Atlantic Coral Reef habitat on the morning of April 16. He’s now winning over the hearts of visitors at the exhibit.
Pecorino was rescued from Fenwick, Delaware in September 2020 with “injuries consistent with a boat strike to the head,” according to the press release. Despite being healed from those injuries, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) deemed Pecorino “not releasable” due to cognitive challenges.
Since then, he has lived at the Aquarium’s Animal Care and Rescue Center, where he has received rehabilitative care and training to help him prepare for his public debut. Pecorino’s exhibit represents the first time a sea turtle has swum on exhibit at the National Aquarium since the passing of Calypso, the famous and iconic 500-pound green sea turtle who anchored the Blue Wonders exhibit from 2002 until 2020.
When Pecorino was rescued, he had a small laceration that healed quickly. Unfortunately, he also had brain swelling from the injury that caused ongoing cognitive issues. This made it difficult for him to behave like a normal, healthy turtle in the wild. He was lethargic and slow to respond to stimuli and had vision difficulties in the eye impacted by his injury. This led the USFWS to determine Pecorino would have difficulty avoiding predators in his natural ocean habitat.
Thanks to the Aquarium’s Animal Care and Welfare teams’ care and rehabilitation work with Pecorino, he’s improved to the point of being able to swim and eat independently and can successfully navigate the spaces in his new home where Aquarium guests can watch and enjoy his journey.
Pecorino’s new home, the Atlantic Coral Reef exhibit, is a 335,000-gallon replicated Caribbean reef that is home to more than 1,000 sea creatures representing more than 70 species of tropical fishes. The Aquarium team had to make sure that the habitat’s pathways and spaces could accommodate Pecorino, who is around 25 pounds and still growing. He’s estimated to be 5 to 7 years old and can grow to a size of about 100 pounds and two feet in length.
Pecorino came into rehabilitation from the Chesapeake Bay region, as opposed to New England, where most rehabilitated turtles coming to the Aquarium are from. The fact that Pecorino is local is a reminder that sea turtles regularly migrate through our waters, too. The National Aquarium celebrated the passage of the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act, which passed through the U.S. House of Representatives in early April. The legislation provides funding to organizations like the Aquarium that have long provided sea turtles with rescue care. The bill now moves to the U.S. Senate.
Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are the smallest of the seven species of sea turtle, and the most critically endangered. The leatherback is the largest species of sea turtle and can grow to be more than 1,000 pounds.
“Pecorino’s progress has been remarkable and is a credit to the efforts of our Animal Care and Welfare teams,” said Stephanie Allard, Senior Vice President, and Chief Animal Welfare Officer. “It is so gratifying to see Pecorino succeed on exhibit where he can enjoy more naturalistic stimuli in a complex physical environment while serving as a public ambassador for our turtle rescue efforts.”
