Sea Turtle Second Chance
The Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium is honored to play an active role in wildlife conservation efforts locally and around the world. Every year, hundreds of sea turtles are beached or stranded in cold water due to injury, disease, illness, or environmental threats. The Pittsburgh Zoo’s Sea Turtle Second Chance Program is helping change their stories through rescue, veterinary care, rehabilitation, and release back into the wild.
Learn more and watch the 2024 releaseHarbor, the Program Ambassador
In 2016, the Sea Turtle Second Chance Program welcomed a green sea turtle named Harbor. Harbor was hit by a boat propeller in a waterway in Florida and received extensive injuries: the strike severed her spine, shattered her pelvis, and paralyzed her back flippers. Harbor recovered her swimming abilities with a buoyant back end, sustaining a condition recognized as bubble butt syndrome due to air trapped under her shell. She has adapted to and thrived with this lifestyle, but due to these lasting impairments, it was determined that she is a non-releasable turtle. Harbor continues to reside at the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium and serves as an ambassador for the program. She can often be seen swimming or resting between rocks in either the Little or Big Ocean Tank, midway through the Aquarium.
Conservation
To make the world better for wildlife, the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium serves as a leader in uniting people to take conservation action.
