SEA CAGE
Our sea cage is one of the most important parts of our rehabilitation centre. It allows us to rehabilitate our turtles in a more enriching and natural environment. Using the sea cage is an effective way to save more turtles as it rehabilitates turtles quicker than if they were in a tank on land.
Photo: Kayla Vieten, @kaylathedronepilot
Our sea cage allows our turtles to be in a more natural and enriching environment during their rehabilitation. Being back in the ocean motivates the turtles to exhibit natural behaviours like practicing their diving. The ocean is where turtles are supposed to be and the sea cage speeds up the rehabilitation process exponentially.
Life in the sea cage is a lot less disruptive to our turtles. While we love to show visitors around the centre, some turtles rehabilitation process will benefit from some time away from people. The only interaction the turtle will experience is daily feeding and monitoring by our marine biologists.
It takes a lot more muscle to swim in the ocean compared to a tank. Letting our turtles complete their rehabilitation process in the sea cage builds their muscles back up for their release.
Our sea cage is 5m deep and 9m wide, giving our turtles lots of space to get better. It exceeds EPA standards for turtle rehabilitation tank size. While it doesn't compare to the expanse of the ocean, it certainly gives them the space to get them diving again.
