Sea Turtle Rescue

With just over 10,000 remaining in the wild, Kemp's ridley turtles are among the rarest on the planet. So when a ship accidentally injures two of them--one severely--the South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Care Center team must race to perform emergency surgery and save a valuable member of this endangered species.

A green sea turtle nicknamed Conch has a hole in his shell with an accompanying infection, while an encounter with a stingray leaves a juvenile loggerhead turtle injured from a sting. It's another busy summer day in the hectic schedule of the South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Care Center.

It's a tale of two turtles at the South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Care Center as a pair of endangered Kemp's ridleys face wildly different outcomes: Hopper has minor abrasions from a dredging accident and is cleared for release. Glen, on the other hand, needs a never-before-attempted procedure to save his life.

It's a big day on Folly Beach as the South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Care Center gets ready to release two rehabilitated Kemp's ridley turtles. Every turtle returned to the wild is a major victory for this critically endangered and embattled species.

With nearly 6,500 nests in South Carolina, it's been a banner year for loggerhead turtles. This success is due to the protected status given to beaches with a high number of turtle nesting sites, and the effort of dedicated conservationists as well. Join them as they carry out their selfless and vital role.

The South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Care Center has come across the eighth sea turtle this year--a female loggerhead named Sumter--with the same, baffling symptom: cloudy vision. Luckily, a local surgeon has offered to perform cataract surgery. Can Sumter's sight be restored with this radical procedure?