Kansas City is hundreds of miles away from the nearest ocean, but it’s now home to one of the most endangered species of sea turtles.
The Kemp’s ridley sea turtle flew more than 1,000 miles last week from Baltimore to its new home at SEA LIFE Kansas City. The flight was provided by Turtles Fly Too, a nonprofit that works with volunteer pilots to transport endangered species.
Kayla Leyden, curator at SEA LIFE Kansas City, said the organization usually helps transport hundreds of sea turtles who get washed up and cold-stunned.
“But ours was a very special, VIP turtle who got her very own plane ride from the East Coast all the way out here,” Leyden said.
Leyden said the sea turtle was rescued off the coast of Virginia by a local fisherman after she ingested a fishhook. Staff at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center removed the hook but determined that she needed more care.
The sea turtle then spent two years trying in rehabilitation to get “sea-ready” at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Because she has arthritis in her front flippers, the National Aquarium and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined she needed to be under human care.
“Her quality of life was great, she was a happy little turtle, but she wasn't going to be able to thrive in the ocean,” Leyden said. “She doesn't use her front flippers hardly at all, and she wouldn't catch live food.”
Leyden said her team spent months working with the National Aquarium and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure they were the perfect home for the sea turtle. She arrived a day early in Maryland to accompany the sea turtle on her flight to Kansas City.
The sea turtle’s safety was front of mind — her carrier was covered in foam pads to mitigate any vibrations, and Leyden took measurements during the flight to make sure she kept warm until arriving in Kansas City.
“We unstrapped her, got her into the SEA LIFE van and brought her home,” Leyden said. “Now, she's swimming around for everybody to see.”
The sea turtle’s forever home will now be in Kansas City, where Leyden said she’ll have an important job being an ambassador for her species.
She is now Missouri's only permanent resident Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, which is one of the most endangered sea turtle species. It’s also one of the smallest species — Leyden said this one is about the size of a dinner plate and weighs 16 pounds.
The species is also unique because of its narrow range of travel compared to its counterparts, whose trips can span thousands of miles.
Leyden said Kemp’s ridley sea turtles mainly live in the Mid-Atlantic and Gulf regions, but they still need Kansas City residents’ help and protection.
“We live in and around the Missouri River, which feeds right into the Gulf, right? So what we do here does impact the lives of these Kemp’s ridley sea turtles,” Leyden said. “Her role as an ambassador for her species is to inspire our guests to be curious about the aquatic world around us, and hopefully leave with a better appreciation for the ocean than they came in with.”
Leyden said the sea turtle doesn’t have a name yet, but because she’s the first Kemp’s ridley sea turtle in Kansas City, they hope to get the community involved in the naming process.
The sea turtle is a juvenile, but because sea turtles live so long, Leyden said she could be a decade old. She will likely reach a maximum of 80 pounds when she’s fully grown, turning a more yellow “banana” color as she ages.
Her Kansas City aquarium is the first she’s shared with animals that aren’t other sea turtles, like bonnethead sharks and rays. But Leyden said she’s settling in nicely and has found a spot to scratch her shell.
“She is eating, she's swimming around, she's taking sea turtle naps, which is all excellent, great signs,” Leyden said. “So when you come and visit her, she's probably going to be taking a nap.”
