Turtles: An Animal Rescue Story

Today we're visiting a sea turtle named Tate at Loggerhead Marinelife Rescue in Florida. Let's learn cool facts about sea turtles, hear Tate's rescue story and see if he can be released back into the ocean, his natural habitat. Let’s promise to do our part to protect animals and our planet. Because here at Animal Rescue Adventures...every animal matters, and every explorer helps.

Transcript

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Hey explorers, welcome to Animal Rescue Adventures, the show where we meet amazing animals and become heroes for them too. I'm your host Steph, and today we're going on a rescue mission. Today we're visiting a very special animal named Tate at the Lagerhead Marine Life Rescue. Can you guess what kind of animal he is? That might have been a little hard, but Tate is a sea turtle. Let's learn a few cool things about turtles. Sea turtles have existed for over a hundred million years, navigating the ocean since the time of dinosaurs. While they breathe air, they can stay submerged for hours to sleep, up to seven in some cases. A turtle shell is actually part of its skeleton, compromising roughly 50 bones, including the rib cage and spine. Sea turtles often appear to be crying on land, but they are actually excreting excess salts from their bodies via special glands. Turtles have nerves in their shells, meaning they can feel it when their shell is touched. While most turtles are omnivores, they eat fish, plants, and insects, green sea turtles are herbivores, feeding on seagrass and algae. Despite popular belief, turtles can make sounds, including grunts, hisses, and clicks. Sea turtles can live for 50 to 100 years. Do you know anyone 50 to 100 years old? But Tate didn't always feel like he was going to live until 100. He was rescued because the weather up north where he was got really cold and so it turned the ocean cold. When turtles get too cold, they're unable to eat and they become very weak. That means Tate could no longer live well in the cold water environment he was born into and he was too weak to migrate to warmer waters. Right now, Tate is working really hard to get better. He is being helped with getting warmed up and gaining weight by eating really well. The rescue team is helping him eat more food and swim in warmer water. So what happens next? Tate has gained the right amount of weight and his strength back, so he can be released back into the ocean today. Trivia time. Do turtles have gills like fish or do they breathe air like you and me? Even though they swim and can stay submerged underwater, they have lungs and they breathe air. True or false, when you touch a turtle's shell, they cannot feel it. False, they have nerves in their shells and they can feel it when they are touched on their shell. True or false, turtles have been around since dinosaurs time. True. Their species is really old. Alright explorers, here's your mission today. You can help animals like Tate by reducing plastic waste, like replacing plastic water bottles with ones you can use over and over again. Leave turtle nesting sites untouched at the beach. If you see a marked-off area on the sand, walk around it. If you live near a coast, participate in a local beach cleanup. Every small action makes a big difference. Our adventure ends today with our new friend Tate. Let's promise to do our part to protect animals and our planet. Because here at Animal Rescue Adventures, every animal matters and every explorer helps. And for the parents listening, remember to sign up for our Animal Rescue Adventures Club at www.supportanimal rescue adventures.com. That's support animal rescue adventures.com.