San Diego’s and the Living Coast Discovery Center’s newest jewel:
Sapphire the Loggerhead Sea Turtle
In September, 2014, the Living Coast Discovery Center takes over the care of a Loggerhead Sea Turtle. Sapphire was rescued – twice! – by The Turtle Hospital in the Florida Keys. She has had at least one encounter with a boat propeller and will now call the Living Coast Discovery Center home.
Sapphire Facts
Sapphire is a female Loggerhead Sea Turtle
Scientific name: Caretta caretta
Why Loggerhead: Because of their large heads
Age: While it is impolite to ask a female’s age, she is classified as sub-adult, probably a teenager
Weight: 129.3 lbs
Length: 64.1″
Width: 61.5″
Did you Know?: Sapphire is the first animal at the Living Coast Discovery Center to have her own Twitter account. Follow her at @SapphiredUp or Twitter.com/SapphiredUp
Sapphire’s Story
Sapphire’s story begins back in February 2010. She was discovered in a canal in Islamorada in the Florida Keys. She was having trouble submerging, which made her a target for dangerous boat propellers. She was rescued and brought to The Turtle Hospital (Hidden Harbor Marine Environmental Project, Inc.), a 501(c)(3) charitable corporation, and released into the wild after a brief rehabilitation.
On May 13, 2013, Sapphire was re-admitted to The Turtle Hospital, having been found again in boating lanes. As she arrived at the hospital, the rehab staff were amused at the “skirt” she seemed to be wearing on the lower end of her carapace from all the epibiota that had developed while she had obviously been floating at the surface for multiple weeks and maybe even months.
Meanwhile, the Living Coast Discovery Center was looking for a Loggerhead Sea Turtle. Inquiries were made and, just about the time it was dawning on the staff at The Turtle Hospital that Sapphire might not be a candidate for release into the wild, introductions were made.
Sapphire will travel to San Diego via a chartered flight donated by FedEx!
About The Living Coast Discovery Center
Located six miles south of downtown San Diego, the Living Coast Discovery Center sits on the 316-acre Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge. The Living Coast is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to providing environmental education on coastal resource conservation and instilling respect for nature and wildlife in people of all ages. We do this by providing interactive wildlife learning experiences
About The Turtle Hospital
In 1993, a bar called Fanny’s converted to The Turtle Hospital, the only state-certified veterinary hospital in the world for sea turtles. More than half of the hospital’s equipment has been generously donated by hospitals, doctors, private individuals, and organizations. The Hospital is funded by personal donors, grant and foundation money, merchandise sales, and guided educational experiences.
About FedEx Corp.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce, and business services. With annual revenues of $46 billion, the company offers integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world’s most admired and
trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 300,000 team members to remain “absolutely, positively” focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities.
