With only three fins, a sea turtle named Gigi disappeared with the blink of an eye into the bay waters surrounding Grand Caribe Shoreline Park in Coronado.
Carried by a team of SeaWorld Rescue Center team members, Gigi returned to the ocean after successful rehabilitation on June 21.
“It was just very cool to be able to see that turtle just get itself off the beach into the water with only its three fins and just absolutely take off. …It was so surprising to see how big it was,” said Imperial Beach resident Kailey Bender, who witnessed the release on June 21 while enjoying a bright sunny day at the beach with her two kids.
Following the fun spectacle, Garrett Lemons, a Southwest Fisheries Science Center biologist, said he personally pulled Gigi out of the water in the span of 20 seconds during fieldwork last year on June 14.
“We showed up to our study site and I was out there in the morning just looking at the water and doing pre-check and I saw the turtle floating,” said Lemons about the rescue. “I took the boat out with another colleague and…upon picking her out of the water, the buoyancy issues were evident.”
Gigi was also missing her left front flipper.
Lemons said his center focuses mostly on research and population monitoring. For this reason, they contacted SeaWorld, who specialize in the medical and rehab of rescue animals, to further assist Gigi.
SeaWorld San Diego said Gigi’s buoyancy issues are a dangerous condition that affects any sea turtles’ ability to dive and forage for food.
SeaWorld conducted blood sampling, radiographs, and a CT scan upon Gigi’s arrival and also administered medication to alleviate gas in her gastrointestinal tract, according to a news release.
Tracy Spahr, from SeaWorld, said Gigi was one of three turtles being rehabilitated at the SeaWorld San Diego Rescue Center.
“The same day that Gigi was spotted and rescued we had just returned another green sea turtle that had a missing front right flipper,” said Jeni Smith, curator of the rescue program at SeaWorld San Diego. “[Gigi] She looked very similar. She was a little bit smaller, but missing a flipper as well. So we affectionately named her Georgia II, which then nicknamed Gigi.”
Gigi rejoins the green sea turtles in the San Diego Bay which mature in habitats characterized by seagrass and algae before migrating back to nesting beaches in Mexico to reproduce.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, about 60 of the endangered turtles live part-time in San Diego Bay, though the population fluctuates year to year.
These sea turtles are classified as endangered due to various threats, including habitat loss, pollution, and accidental capture in fishing gear.
“Today, Gigi is thriving — eating well, diving normally, and with a healthy blood sample that confirms her readiness for return,” read the SeaWorld news release about sending Gigi back to the wild.
“It does take quite a while to fully rehabilitate a sea turtle, to feel real comfortable that she’ll go out there, she’ll forage and figure things out,” said Smith. “We have to kind of see that behavior in our pools, let them dive and find food, and then we’re ready to send them out.”
According to Smith, Gigi leaves SeaWorld with an external tag on her right flipper that gives the center information to her records moving forward.
“I rarely come to these releases,” Lemons said. “I thought it was personally just interesting to see her go off and back to the wild. …A personal success story.”
