Community Corner

World's Rarest Sea Turtle Is New Resident at Sarasota Aquarium

The Kemp's ridley sea turtle cannot be returned to the wild.

A new sea turtle named “Caleb” is now on exhibit publicly in The Aquarium at Mote Marine Laboratory, which is providing the turtle a permanent home because it has impaired swimming abilities and cannot be returned to the wild.

Caleb is the first Kemp’s ridley turtle — considered the most endangered sea turtle species on Earth — to become a permanent resident in Mote’s exhibit Sea Turtles: Ancient Survivors.

The exhibit also houses loggerhead and green turtles that could not be released, has a hospital for hatchling sea turtles and features educational displays about Mote’s sea turtle conservation and research, highlighting how the public can help sea turtles survive.

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Caleb, a juvenile turtle weighing 20 pounds with an upper shell nearly 14 inches long, was rescued Nov. 9, 2011 on Ormond Beach and brought to the Volusia County Marine Science Center in Ponce Inlet.


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