A few weeks later, Mom and I drive all the way to Boston to visit the New
England Aquarium before we go to see Lucky in the Animal Care Center, It's
along drive, but the aquarium is so much fun! Before Mom and I go to visit
Lucky, we look at all the cool animals in the tanks. We see fish, seahorses,
seals, and even penguins!

peri.



The turtle looks sick and very sleepy. I wish I could make him feel better.
“How can we help him?" I ask Mom.

“Don't worry, Jack, We are going to take him to a place where he can get
better.” I help Mom carry the turtle to our car, Mom carefully puts the
turtle in a box with a soft towel inside.

“Can I name him, Mom?" I ask.
Mom laughs. "Sure, Jack," she says.

T think that the turtle is very lucky to have so many people helping him get
better, I decide to call him Lucky.


Ms. Connie shows us where Lucky is swimming around. He looks happy and
swims over to the side of the tank to say hello.

“Lucky is doing so much better!" says Ms. Connie, “He is taking his medicine
and eating very well. As he gets stronger, he can swim longer and catch his
own food. If he keeps doing well, we can release him soon. Lucky really is a
lucky turtle.”

ma

eich

pat Pee . a is Hen Ls Aaluarin =
Ms. Connie introduces us to a veterinarian named Dr. Charlie. He takes us into

asmaller room and explains how they take care of cold-stunned sea turtles.
The room has a metal table and a lot of special equipment in it.


MY NATURE
JOURNAL

ili al My qaq likes to
\\ go fishing for

4 ees striped bass like

this one.

This seaweed
is called kelp.

Today, I learned that ir
humpback whales edt up KF
to 3,000 pounds of tiny a

animals catieq krill every ~
day!


New England Aquarium

The dquarium has many
cool exhibits like the
Giant Oceqn Tank,
penguins, seals, and
much more. There dre
qiso Shows where you can Watch the animals

Lunch time for being fed and learn all
about them.

The aquarium helps 0
rescue dnd rehabilitate

dnd educqtes visitors
dbout marine life.


Tk takes many people and groups
to Save q Seq turtle.

Volunteers

Walk he beaches ko find burties
aid unk d& aquamunis of Mass
Audubort.

Drivers and piloes

Re

Trensport. buries bekween the

Sanctuary, rehdb orgeruzaions arte
begehes where they dre reledser,

Veterinarians

Marine biclogists

lia

dbtruk. then, aid werk Et

HithleS Eo deb. bokker,

lprckerk, hen
Store Gwners Local community

FRR

u&) ea © So
AR di ABBAS
Dandhe Sup KueS ke Skutdy Report skamiderd kurkes ond

bana boxes fr braraprorbareg
tures,

dance supplies


Tam happy that Lucky is going to get help from experts, but I will miss him.
“Will I be able to go visit Lucky?"

“Yes, I can talk to my friends at the Animal Care Center about letting you
visit Lucky," says Mr, Bob, “But he might not stay there for long. When he
gets better, he will get to fly in an airplane or be driven by a volunteer to
where he will be released in the warm water down south."


Mom finds something big as we walk down the beach, It's a sea turtle!

Mom says, “This is a loggerhead sea turtle, That's a bit unusual as it
is more common to find Kemp's ridley sea turtles in the fall. All sea
turtles are protected so they don't go extinct.”



Mass Audubon

g — ANN
Mass Audubon is an organization ;
that works to protect the wildlife of |

|

Massachusetts. They protect 35,000

acres of conservation land where you can |
go hiking or birdwatching. Mass Audubon |
also provides many other fun activities |

: like summer camps for kids!

Ky ty

ita

VY Volunteers do many different things ;
‘to help the animals and environment of
Massachusetts, including helping to build
boardwalks and leading hikes to educate
people about the local wildlife. Some
volunteers hike the beaches of Cape Cod to
find and rescue cold-stunned sea turtles.
Hard-working volunteers are very important
in helping to protect the environment and
all the animals that live in it!

Learn more at
i. massaudubon.org/ ee,
\

& w



This is my mom, and she is a volunteer with the
Massachusetts Audubon Society. Today, she is
taking me with her to the beach to show me what
she and the other volunteers do.


Rescued from the bedch!



QO. Horseshoe

crdb
Hermit. crab ’
Blue cfdb i

Whert 4 hermit. cra gees
isore) big for its shell, ie
moves INkO q fet Ofie.



Turtle Testing

X-ray

Turtles are x-rayed to see if they have
broken bones or pneumonia. If the turtle
iS Sick with pneumonig, it will Show up ds
White Spots on the X-ray.

Blood Less

Turtles have their blood drawn and

tested to learn qbout their blood sugar iq
and chemistry. This qllows veterinarians Ta :
to see if their organs are Functioning. q a

Hear rabe arid

breaching (Ibe Turtles’ heart rakes are measured
— q fetal heart monitor. A healkhy
turkle's breathing and heart raves are
Slower than 4 person's rates. A cald-
Stunned turkle’s rakes are even slower
than q hedlthy turtle.

A veterinarian will look for Physical eXatn
external injuries like cubs

or injuries to the Shell. The

vel. may qiso drop q type

of stain in the turtle’s

eyes to look for damage. 7?

d turtle's eye



A LUCKY TURTLE

THE JOURNEY OF A COLD-STUNNED SEA TURTLE



I'm confused. “But Mom, I thought sea turtles only lived in warm places, like
in Florida where we vacation,”

Mom says, “Sea turtles do live in warm places, but they also switn up the coast
to places like Massachusetts in the summer when the water here is warm. In
the fall, they swim back south to warmer waters, The journey these turtles
take is called migration."

Task Mom, “It's so cold out; shouldn't this turtle be on its way back south?"

Mom nods, “That's right. Sea turtles that stay in the cold too long can cold
stun. Their body temperatures become too low, and they can get very sick and
wash up on the beach, We can get warm by bundling up, but turtles depend on
the temperature of the water to keep them warm. This is because they are
cold-blooded and can't heat themselves.”


* ell np Pe * Weight: Up to 250 pounds
* Diet: Crabs, Gch elk ies, * Shell: Oval, reddish-brown
* Die: Whelks, conchs

mollusks ;
* Smallest. marine turtle * ee bie large head

Leatherback

Shell lengeh

Shell length: :
up to 72 inches

up bo 39 inches

be ged Up to 350 pounds * Weight: Lip to 2000 pounds
* Shell

Oval, brown wikh * Shell: Bony piqtes covered
Streaks with black, rubbery skin
* Diet: Seagrasses, alqae * Diet: Jellies, salps

* Largest. harq-shelleq seq * Largest Seq turtle
turtle


Today it is very cold on the beach, so Mom and I bundle up to stay warm. It is
high tide, and there are many things to find on the beach! See what I found
today!



We drive for a while longer to the Animal Care Center in Quincy where the
Aquarium takes care of the sick sea turtles before they are released. It is
like a hospital for sea turtles. Inside, there is a huge room full of big tanks
with all kinds of sea turtles swimming around in them. In this room, we meet
Ms. Connie, a marine biologist. She is in charge of helping the turtles brought
to the aquarium. Ms. Connie explains that a lot of the sea turtles in the tanks
are Kemp's ridleys and loggerheads that were cold-stunned, just like Lucky.


Want
ML

(UT

=

|
ea

———

Hil My name is Jack, T live in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and I love going to the
beaches here and swimming in the ocean, I also like to learn about the kinds
of animals that live in the ocean near where I live, I record everything I learn
in my nature journal.


Warm-blooded Animal

yO ,

: ra a ray oy
- ad f LRA
mw.

=i . f r
et AEG Aan VE. _B@ Gd__

Air Lemperqeure: i Air Lemperature: ”D
Body temperature: |.) Body temperature: \,

ot blooded Animal

Ae _
_ \

 « fo

a a} Fe - w=) a

Air Lemperquure: ry Air Lemperature: ie :
Body temperature: | \ Body temperature: |


Many organi2quons have helped cOld-
Stunned Seq turtles from Cape Cod in
the last five years!

Nudonal Marine
Bacal | Life Cearer
Pitrshurgh cong

Farnese: Sea Turtle.

Rescue and Rehahilitarion Cennez ‘

ait
\ 5

Instelule for Marine
‘ Mammal Soudies
Anduboa Aquarium, 4

eo ee:

Gull Wineldd


Dear Reader,

This book is designed as a children's story and a nature journal.
By reading the pages on the left, you will learn Jack and Lucky's
story. The pages on the right are from Jack's nature journal.
They provide more information on Jack's experiences and links
to resources online, Comments on the book may be sent to my
NOAA Fisheries mentor, Ellen Keane, at ellen. keane@noaa.gov,

We hope you enjoy the story and that the journal may inspire
you to keep one of your own. Happy journaling!

Grace


A Lucky Turtle was written and illustrated
by Grace Collins

as a service project in support of NOAA
Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional
Fisheries Office.

NOAA FISHERIES

About the author: Grace Collins is an 11th grade high school student who wrote and
illustrated this book as a service learning project for NOAA Fisheries. She lives in Rockport,
Massachusetts, a small town by the ocean, and enjoys sailing and spending time at the beach,
Grace loves all animals and is passionate about protecting the environments where they live,

About NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO): GARFO is
responsible for the stewardship of living marine and diadromous resources from Maine to
North Carolina, and includes the Great Lakes under its authority, GARFO's vision is a future
in which the American people continue to benefit from healthy ocean and coastal ecosystems
in the Greater Atlantic Region, GARFO's mission encompasses stewardship through science-
based conservation and management, focused on protection and restoration of healthy coastal
ecosystems,


Kemp's Ridley Habitat Map

| ; Areq where Kemp's ridley seq turtles
qre found

Migssachusekks

Temperate
BS 2one
Mexico pacar T
T - : ~ ~ ~ _
Lt 3 JO ey L
Tropical
_ Zone

Re vey,

Kemp's ridleys and other seq turtles migrate north in
the summer months When ik is warm there. Loggerheads
and ledtherbacks cqan swim gil the way bo Canadq! In the
fall when it begins bo get cold, seq turtles migrate back
SOuth Where they Spend the winter.


We drive to Mass Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. When we get
there, I help Mom bring Lucky inside to a holding area, Inside, a man named
Mr. Bob takes a look at Lucky.

“Is Lucky going to be okay?" I ask Mr. Bob,

Mr. Bob says, "Right now, he has hypothermia, That means that his body
temperature is very low. For now, we are going to keep him at a safe
temperature, and then we are going to send him to the New England
Aquarium's Animal Care Center. The experts there will give him a checkup and
try to make him feel better.”