A three-winged sea turtle is returning to the San Gabriel River after a long recovery
The pork seemed eager to go home.
Under a blazing sun, a green sea turtle floated down the San Gabriel River on its front flipper as aquarium workers held its shell.
They let him go and all 85 pounds of him instantly disappeared into the dirty water – in the same place it was reported last year, with a dead flipper and a hook in his mouth.
“I’m hoping that he will travel far or live a turtle life without further contact with humans,” said Dr Lance Adams, director of animal services for the Aquarium of the Pacific, who treated his injuries – including the amputation of a necrotic flipper – before releasing him into the wild on Friday morning.
After being released, Porkchop quickly swam into the lower San Gabriel River.
(Josh Barber/Aquarium of the Pacific)
Formerly known as CM2502, the Porkchop got its nickname when it was grinding away at the carcass shortly after losing its front right wing, which had been severely obstructed by fishing lines.
He is the latest graduate patient at the Long Beach aquarium, which has been treating sea turtles for more than 25 years. But until recently, all the work was done behind the scenes.
Last month, the aquarium opened a new turtle rehabilitation facility that includes a nearly 4,000-gallon, public-facing tank. There, visitors to the aquarium can see sick or injured turtles swimming, fed or treated, depending on when they pass by.
Porkchop earned his 15 minutes of reptile fame for being the first turtle to swim in a tank.
Most Angelenos don’t know the Eastern Pacific green sea turtles are swimming in their proverbial backyard, but they do — and they’re thriving. An estimated 100 hulking-but-kind animals live in the lower reaches of the San Gabriel River, where salt and fresh water meet.
Turtles often swim into the mouth of the river in the Long Beach-Seal Beach area when the ocean water is cold, and then they just hang out and eat algae. (Turtles nest and mate on sandy beaches in Central Mexico.)
Although they are considered threatened, their numbers are increasing.
Getting stuck in fishing gear and debris, as Porkchop was, are among the top reasons turtles end up in aquarium care.
“The big problem is we have to figure out how to stop allowing so much trash to come back here,” said Jeffrey Flocken, the aquarium’s president and CEO. He stopped at a concrete channel blocking the San Gabriel River, just before donning waders to help send Porkchop.
The river runs through a region of 10 million people who may not be aware that they are dumping trash in a turtle habitat – or at least they don’t know the impact.
Another turtle held by the aquarium was found tied to a shopping cart and stroller with fishing wire. In fact, like Porkchop, it was severely damaged in his right frontal lobe. In some places, it cut to the bone.
Adams said they are trying to do surgery to revascularize the blood vessels to make them work as well as possible.
“It’s like rowing a boat,” Adams said. “Some rowing is better than rowing,”
After Porkchop swam, several aquarium workers collected trash from the river, including about 20 golf balls, a Volkswagen car logo, a cut-up credit card, a teal plastic liner, a bottle cap. It overflowed into a white plastic bucket.
“Unfortunately, we need more [buckets],” said Dr. Brian Anton, a UC Davis veterinarian who attended.
