Injured Sea Turtle Finds New Home At Great Lakes Crossing (Video)
By Edward Cardenas
AUBURN HILLS (CBS Detroit) - The newest resident of SEA LIFE Michigan aquarium at Great Lakes Crossing Outlets may live long enough to see the grandchildren of the children who visit him as he swims in the facility's large ocean tank.
Benson, an eight to 10-year-old rescued green sea turtle, was released from a medical observation tank into the ocean tank where he joined an array of creatures including sharks, sting rays and other fish swimming in the 120,000 gallon tank.
While he playfully splashed in the water and dove deep into the tank to explore his new home, the journey from his native Florida to Michigan was not as smooth.
Benson, was hit by a boat a year ago, at Anastasia State Park in St. Johns County, Fla. This caused a caudal carapace fracture (a fracture of his top shell) and induced a hypothermic reaction called cold-stunning.
He was rescued and has been recovering over the past year at the Georgia Sea Turtle Hospital in Jekyll Island, GA.
"The fracture has healed and he is doing really well, swimming well, perfectly healthy. However, since he has the buoyancy issue because of the fracture, he is non releasable," said SEA LIFE Michigan Aquarium Curator Kelli Cadenas. "Since he can't go back out into the wild, we are going to give him a great home here."
Benson, an endangered green sea turtle, joins more than 5,000 creatures at the 35,000-square-foot SEA LIFE Michigan Aquarium.
Cadenas said she flew to Georgia, where she picked up Benson, and brought him back to Michigan. She purchased three seats, one for her and two for Benson and his special carrier, for the trip back to Michigan where he received around-the-clock care and monitoring in the special medical observation pool.
"He is a really great turtle," Cadenas said of Benson, who live to be 150 years old. "He is very friendly, he is very eager to learn. To see him go out today was very exciting."
He will continue to receive 24-hour monitoring as he adjusts to his new environment and his food, consisting of cucumbers, green peppers and brussel sprouts, will be donated by The Kroger Co. of Michigan.
"The Kroger Co. of Michigan is excited to welcome Benson and proud of the opportunity to provide food for the little fellow," said Ken McClure, consumer communications manager for Kroger Co. of Michigan. "Sustainability of our natural environment is very important to Kroger and we thank SEA LIFE Michigan for the chance to help teach this important lesson to the children and families of Michigan."
The rescue of Benson is also part of SEA LIFE's greater mission to breed, rescue and protect.
"It's very important to us at SEA LIFE to breed animals, to rescue them and then protect the environment they live in," she said. "Benson is a rescued turtle. He'll be here his whole life and we are very excited to have him."
