 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Swim with a Sea Turtle Take a turtle for a swim all for a good cause.  Meet Crush, the one year old hawksbill sea turtle currently residing at Under the Sea Aquarium, who was rescued from certain death a year ago.
Help Crush prepare for life in the sea by taking him out for a swim to build his muscles, become sea-savvy and learn about his future ocean home. Learn how Crush overcame many obstacles and faced death more than once. Help Crush raise money to purchase a glass-bottom boat for education programs so that the children of Nevis and St. Kitts can see themselves why it is so important to protect and preserve the sea that Crush and his relatives and friends call home. ONE OF A KIND EXPERIENCE DONE NOWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD Don't Waste Time. Call or email now to reserve your chance to swim with Crush. Terramar@caribcable.com or 869-469-1291 or 869-662-9291 THE LITTLE TURTLE THAT COULD - Press Release THE LITTLE TURTLE THAT COULD - Crush's Story (Part I) BEGINNINGS LIFE AT THE AQUARIUM GROWING TROUBLE Get Part II of Crush's Story and a T-Shirt with your Donation THE LITTLE TURTLE THAT COULD... Sea Life Education Center in Nevis offers the chance to swim with a sea turtle. PRESS RELEASE Charlestown, Nevis – November 2006 A young Hawksbill Turtle born on the island of Nevis is getting a second chance at life. After a near-death experience, Crush, the little sea turtle, is well on his way to a full recovery thanks to marine biologist Barbara Whitman and supporters of her Sea Life Education Center, known as “Under the Sea.” "Crush is an incredible little guy,” says Whitman. “I hope that children and adults alike hear about his story of survival and are inspired to visit our center and take a swim with him.” Ms. Whitman has fashioned a retractable leash for Crush and hopes that visitors will take advantage of the chance to swim with him as he learns to adjust to the open ocean after months of rehabilitation at the Sea Life Education Center. “As far as I know, there is no other program in the world that offers this kind of hands-on opportunity to work with endangered turtles in a rehabilitative setting,” claims Ms. Whitman. “For a small fee, donors will be able to snorkel in the warm waters off Oualie Beach and marvel as Crush builds up the muscles in his sea legs, or his flippers, as the case may be,” noted Whitman. The money raised from those who take Crush out for a swim will go towards purchasing a satellite tag for him so that he can be tracked when he is released to the wild next spring. Those who can’t make it all the way to Nevis can learn about the project and read the first installment of Crush's life story by visiting the Under the Sea website. After sending a donation, they will receive a t-shirt and continuous email updates on the rest of Crush’s story. “This is a great project for school children around the world to adopt during the school year,” said Whitman. The Sea Life Education Center also hopes to purchase a glass bottom boat which can be used to educate the children of Nevis about aquatic life and the importance of preservation of natural resources. Get Part II of Crush's Story and a T-Shirt with your Donation Crush's Story - Part I An Original Story by Barbara Whitman copyright 2006 BEGINNINGS Crush was born on September 20, 2005 at the bottom of his nest. The nest was situated just steps from the restaurant at Oualie Beach Resort on a little island called Nevis. Crush had felt his brothers and sisters moving around and hatching for a few hours and now it was his turn. He used his little egg tooth, a hard point near his nostrils, to tear his way out of his own leathery egg. Once out of his shell, he knew he had to climb. Climb up to the top. So, little flippers flapping in the confined space, Crush began to move upwards. He tried to push against the cool night sand and propel himself in the right direction. But each time he tried one of his siblings pushed him back in their frenzy to reach the outside world. Now, Crush was not one to give up and he struggled with every bit of strength that he had to make it to the surface of the sand. He didn’t exactly know why, but something told him that freedom and the beginning of an exciting life were up there.  For a very long time Crush pushed his way up through the others only to be stepped on and used as a stepping stone for one of his kin. But he did not give up and still he struggled. He noticed two others down there near the bottom of the nest. One was a little smaller than he was and the other looked as those she had given up from fatigue. The weight of the others above him lightened and he realized most of his siblings were gone. He felt a little bit lonely and a lot tired but still he moved around trying to clear away the sand that was falling in around him now over the empty egg shells and onto his head and body. Not far away, he could see light. Something deep inside him knew that he should head for the light. But he got tangled up in the empty shells, his two other siblings and the collapsing sand. He was tired. He didn’t want to admit it. But he knew he had to rest. Suddenly something large reached down and pulled him up towards the light. He just lay there in what he didn't know was a person's hand. Lay there not knowing what to do. He heard a voice say, “This little guy isn’t going to make it if we put him in the water now. He looks exhausted. He’s barely moving. It looks like the other two are even worse off. Let’s put them in the aquarium.” So began Crush’s life in his own private sea. Well, at first he shared it with his brother and sister. He knew they were his brother and sister but he remembered hearing the human say that there was no way to tell what sex a sea turtle was until it matured - somewhere around the age of 20-30 years. Well, he knew, and that was really all that mattered. And with that thought he closed his eyes and floated into a dream. He needed rest. The next day, Crush started to move in the warm, gentle currents of the tank. This must be the sea, he thought. I’d better start swimming. I have to make it to the sargassum. Something inside me tells me that I will find safety and food there. Luckily, I’m not hungry so I can devote all my energy to getting there. Around and around Crush swam, but he didn’t feel like he was getting anywhere new. Everything looked the same no matter where he went. And his brother and sister were right there with him. Well, it was good to have the company at least. You know, he though, I may be there already because I see some seaweed floating nearby. I’ll just go over and rest in it. Hey, this may be the place. It’s holding me afloat and I think I smell food.  Little flakes and pellets were drifting by. So this is what a baby lobster looks like, Crush thought. Is this what a little fish tastes like? At first he had a hard time catching the floating food. He’d lunge and just miss and his movement sent the food floating away from him. He was getting hungrier by the minute but he didn’t give up. He tried again. After what seemed like a very long time Crush felt something pass into his mouth. Ah, now this is good. Let’s try again. He didn’t notice that neither of his siblings was hunting the elusive flakes. He just tried and tried to improve his attack strategy. After a while he got pretty good at it and before you know it the empty feeling in his stomach went away. LIFE AT THE AQUARIUM Crush wasn’t always known as Crush. When he was born he was just a little hawksbill sea turtle hatchling that ended up in an aquarium. His life was pretty nice. Every day he had food and his water was always nice and warm. There didn’t seem to be anything he had to worry about. No strong currents to take him off course. No predators trying to eat him. And he had his brother and sister to keep him company. And of course there was the aquarium keeper. He had heard people call her a marine biologist and he felt very sure that she considered Crush and his siblings very special. Whenever she handled him it was always gently. She brought him close to her face, stroked the soft skin under his neck and said sweet things to him. How are you today? You are so cute. I’m so glad you’re doing well. His biologist said all kinds of things to him that made him feel good. But one day she said something that made him feel very proud. “You have a very important job you know. You are going to be a teaching turtle. For the next year or two, children and their families are going to be able to see a real baby sea turtle. Just seeing you will make them curious about sea turtles. I’ll tell them a little about you and where you would have gone if you’d been able to go with the rest of your siblings out to sea. “But, you know what else? Those children and their families will be so excited about seeing a live sea turtle that I bet they will go home and learn even more. You are part of a species that is struggling to survive. I know you don’t understand what that means but whether you understand or not, you are going to help them. You see, that makes you even more special. But just seeing you, touching you and maybe holding you in their own hands will affect many of them so much that they will want to do what they can to make sure help sea turtles survive so their grandchildren can see them, too. And that’s why you are so very special, little Crush.”  Crush felt so good after hearing this that he wanted to tell his sister and brother how important they both were. He swam over to his sister and tried to get her attention. He tapped her gently with his flipper. She just looked at him sleepily. He had always been a little concerned about her. She never had started to eat the aquarium food and she just lay about floating on the surface of the water most of the time. She didn’t even try to swim down to the bottom of the tank like he and his brother did. Exploring and stretching their muscles. No matter how he and his brother encouraged her to dive or tried to show her how to catch the food, she never seemed to learn. Well, she never even tried. One day the marine biologist came in. She smiled at Crush and said, "Good morning. How are ya, good lookin’?" Then he saw her look toward where his sister was floating. The corners of her mouth turned down, some strange sounds came from her lips and something wet dripped from her eyes. Gently she reached into the tank and lifted the motionless little turtle out of the water. That was the last time Crush saw his sister. Being a little sea turtle means that you take life as it comes. At first Crush wondered where his sister might have gone but after a while his thoughts turned to swimming, lazing about in the seaweed, floating in the currents and having fun diving and pouncing on his food. His brother was there to keep him company, too, although they basically ignored each other or bumped their buoyant little bodies against each other during diving practice. Crush realized he was getting bigger every day. Either that or everything else was growing smaller. His brother didn’t seem to be growing as fast as he was. And didn’t eat as much as he did. Well, more for me, he thought. One day things changed a bit. It was a normal day. The sun shown through the latticework walls of the aquarium and Crush was enjoying floating in and out of the patches of light. Suddenly he felt a knock against his tank. Startled he looked up. Usually he saw his marine biologist looking at him but today there were all kinds of eyes looking down. And lots of lips smiling and moving. There were so many voices that Crush could only make out a few words here and there. Well this is different, he thought. And so it was. Crush didn’t know it then, but that was the day he got his name. Every three months a group of college kids would visit the aquarium to learn about sea animals, see them up close and handle some of them. They knew that when they were scuba diving or snorkeling they should never touch anything. But in the aquarium they were taught how to gently handle some animals without hurting them. Handling animals and looking at them carefully was a good way to learn about them. It was particularly exciting when the aquarium had a rescued turtle. Traditionally, the Sea-Mester students were the ones who had the honor of naming any hatchlings at the aquarium.  Oh look at this one. He’s so big and chubby. He’s swimming around happily and you can tell he knows we’re here. Let’s name him Crush after the turtle in Finding Nemo. Yeah, that’s a great idea they all agreed. And let’s call the smaller one Squirt just like in the cartoon, too. I mean look at him. He is a little Squirt. But he looks happy, too.  That was the day that Crush and his newly named brother, Squirt, were held in hands other than those of his marine biologist. It was a little scary at first but then it was kind of exciting. Once he realized that he could crawl off their palms and into the water whenever he wanted to, it was almost fun. He had never thought about jumping into the water from something before. I’m gonna have to check this idea out a little more, he thought.  Before long Crush had learned to climb onto his feeding rock, crawl across it and plop into the water on the other side. He tried to teach Squirt but Squirt just didn’t seem to have enough strength to climb onto the rock. One day Crush even tried to get Squirt to climb onto his back so Crush could give him a boost onto the rock. All his effort was to no avail. Oh well, Squirt didn’t seem to mind that he couldn’t do it. He was happy swimming up and down around and under the rocks. Occasionally he would nibble at sponges and worms that grew on the rocks in his tank or chase after a little crab. Life was pretty good in the aquarium. It didn’t change much from day to day. Big and little people would come into the aquarium from time to time and lift Crush up. But then he could practice his water plopping. He liked the way the water squished up around him when he crawled off someone’s hand. He also looked forward to seeing his person, the marine biologist who came in every day and fed him. She had even started giving him a new food. Fish. It was so yummy and he had fun using the claws on his front flippers to tear it into bite-sized pieces. GROWING And so life went for Crush. He and Squirt spent their days eating fish, basking in the sun, practicing their diving and snacking on yummy little pellets. Every so often they got to meet little children and their parents. They even showed off their swimming and diving skills when the children were watching. The children giggled and said, "Look Daddy, aren’t they just the cutest? I wish we could have a little sea turtle, too." Sometimes after his marine biologist said something about sea turtles to one of the visitors, Crush heard them say, “I didn’t know that.” Each time he heard that phrase, he puffed himself up, as much as his shell would allow anyway, because he felt so proud to be a teaching turtle.  Eight months passed by. Crush was growing big and strong. He could dive easily to the bottom of his tank to snatch up pieces of fish that drifted down while he was eating. Sometimes Squirt, who was only half Crush’s size, would go after one of the bits but Crush prided himself in being able to beat Squirt to it most of the time. Sometimes he let Squirt win, though, just to make him feel good.  The two of them had all kinds of things to explore in their tank now. There were live corals and feather duster worms that snapped into their tubes when Crush got too close. Little crabs dodged his advances but ran out of their burrows to snatch up little bits of leftover fish when Crush and Squirt weren’t looking. There was even a little triggerfish living in the aquarium now. The little guy was growing up with the turtles and often they would swim and play together.  One of Crush’s favorite things to do was to squeeze himself into a little cave under the rocks. It was nice and cozy and padded with soft sponges and he could sleep there without floating up to the top. Crush could hold his breath for a long time while he slept so he liked to be under the water. Being in the rock cave made him feel safe and secure. Sometimes when Crush felt the need for a nap, he would find Squirt snoozing in the cave. Every now and then he’d wake Squirt up and make him move but usually Crush just went into a bigger, less cozy rock crevice to sleep if he had to. Might as well let the little guy enjoy the finer things in life from time to time. TROUBLE The marine biologist couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Many of the fish in the big tank were getting lesions – open sores. A number of the fish had been living happily in the tank for several months. Several adult and juvenuile angelfish, triggerfish, snappers,grunts and squirrelfish had been active, eating and looking healthy. Now, she noticed that many of these fish had open sores on their bodies. She had no idea where the problem came from. She hadn’t changed her routine at all. She fed them the same food as she always had. The pump was working perfectly, for a change, and over the last several months nice clear water was coming in through the inflow pipe under the dock that jutted out from the beach. The water was clear and there was no indication at all that anything had changed in the last couple of weeks. She was stumped. Maybe the fish had some kind of disease that she had no experience with but the fish in the other tank seemed to have sores also. Two days later, she arrived at the aquarium in the morning to find three dead fish floating at the top. That’s it, she thought. I’m going to let the rest go. Maybe they will get better in the sea. It’s got to be something in the water. I can’t figure out what else it could be. But I have no idea how to go about finding out what it is. The invertebrates seem fine. The cushion stars and sea urchins appear to be moving around and eating. Even the delicate anemones look fine. But the fish are all showing signs of illness or at least stress. So that morning she busied herself scooping her fishy wards into buckets and releasing them into the water at the end of the dock. Away they swam. I can always collect others I suppose. It’s so nice that the local fisherman bring me fish too small to sell or ones that are exotic looking. They like to visit them in the aquarium from time to time and watch them swim. I’m lucky that André loves to catch the little fish. It takes so much patience and understanding of fish behavior to catch the little guys. I am much better suited to collecting things like sea urchins and brittle stars. They don’t run very fast she thought and then chuckled to herself. That day, the marine biologist carefully watched Crush and Squirt swimming around in their aquarium. Thank goodness they seem alright, she thought. I just love those little guys. They bring so much joy to the people that come to see them. It’s amazing that adults and kids alike who have come here on vacation email every so often to see how they are faring. Dear Dr Barbera These are some piccies we took on holiday - I hope you like them There are piccies of crush on the wall in my classroom How is Crush doing, OK? What type of fish was that fish you put in Crushes tank, not the farmer one. Send me some more piccies of Crush if possible When's Crushes birthday? From Elizabeth and Eleanor I love the photos they send. It’s so great to see their kids holding the little guys happily in their hands, big grins on their faces as if this were the greatest treat in the world. Unfortunately, a few days later, everything had changed. The marine biologist came into the aquarium that morning whistling and happy to see her litle guys. When she called, "Hey handsome" Crush didn't come over to see her as he always did. He had his head pressed tightly against the aquarium wall in a corner of the tank and he wasn't moving. She tapped gently on his tank and he gave a start as if he had no idea anyone was even nearby. Then the marine biologist looked closer. "Oh no!" she exclaimed. "Crush is blind!" Find out how to get Part II of The Little Turtle That Could | ||||||
 Back to Top | Home | About Us | Photos | SeaCamp | Day Trips | Terramar | Contact | Store | Teachers ©2002-2008 Under The Sea - Nevis, All Rights Reserved Site by TrailsWeb | ||||||
