Miami-Dade Parks hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of an all-new sea turtle hospital at Zoo Miami. In attendance were Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Miami-Dade Parks Director Maria I. Nardi, and representatives of the Zoo Miami Foundation.
“Congratulations to our Miami-Dade Parks and Zoo Miami teams for their hard work to make this sea turtle hospital a reality,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “I am committed to ensuring that Miami-Dade County continues our efforts to protect the natural beauty of our ecosystem and the beautiful species with which we are so lucky to coexist.”
The new 1600 square foot sea turtle hospital consists of five saltwater enclosures that will serve as “recovery beds” for up to 16 sea turtles brought to Zoo Miami for treatment. The facility will be only the second Sea Turtle Hospital in Miami-Dade County, and the only one able to treat fibropapillomatosis, a potentially fatal disease found in sea turtles which causes clustered tumors to grow on the skin, including the eyes and mouth, as well as on internal organs.
“Sea turtles have been called one of the most important indicators of the health of our oceans,” said Miami-Dade Parks Director Maria Nardi. “Today’s sea turtle hospital dedication is an important milestone for the rehabilitation of sea turtles in Miami-Dade County and a step forward in Miami-Dade Parks Zoo Miami’s charge to serve as a beacon of wildlife conservation.”
The facility is in a behind-the-scenes area next to the existing Zoo Miami Animal Hospital. Zoo Miami worked closely with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to construct the sea turtle hospital with funding provided by the Zoo Miami Foundation.
All five species of sea turtle found in Florida waters are classified as threatened or endangered. Their greatest threats are pollution, improperly discarded fishing nets and lines, boat strikes, cold stress, threats to their nesting beaches, and the aforementioned fibropapillomatosis virus.
