for visitors Aquarium of the Pacific Ocean You can now get a closer look at Meatloaf, a rescued green sea turtle who is undergoing rehabilitation after suffering a serious flipper injury, according to officials.
Meatloaf, who weighs more than 200 pounds, was rescued earlier this year after being found entangled in fishing line and rope in the San Gabriel River, aquarium staff said. The rope had tightened one of his front flippers and had worn away tissue down to the bone, requiring immediate medical care.
“It took longer than expected to get him out of the water,” said Nate Jarosz, vice president of animal care at the Long Beach Aquarium. “He’s a very big turtle, the biggest turtle we’ve worked on.”
Despite the severity of his injuries, Jaros reported that Meatloaf was generally in good condition and healthy before being trapped. She has been recovering for three months since the first surgery to save her flipper and is showing promising improvement, although her journey is far from over. According to Jarosz, it can take up to a year for turtles to fully recover from such injuries.
Meatloaf was rescued earlier this year after being found entangled in the San Gabriel River.
(Aquarium of the Pacific)
“The entangled line severely damaged the front flipper, cutting off its blood supply,” Dr. Lance Adams, the aquarium’s director of veterinary services, said in a statement. “We are doing everything possible, including surgery, to try to save the flipper. It is showing some early promising signs of recovery.”
Meatloaf’s ordeal sheds light on a broader issue facing marine wildlife off the Southern California coast.
Jarosz said sea turtles are attracted to riverine environments for their warm temperatures and available food sources, but those same waterways act as funnels for urban runoff and debris, making entanglement a recurring threat to the species.
“There’s definitely a problem with trash and plastic waste in an area where sea turtles are in abundance,” he said.
According to Jarosz, Meatloaf’s rescue was made possible by aquarium volunteers who conduct weekly and monthly field surveys to monitor green sea turtles in the San Gabriel River. When community science volunteers first spotted the entangled turtle, they contacted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s stranding hotline and continued monitoring until aquarium staff could respond.
Veterinarians then evaluated whether Meatloaf could be safely rescued in the water or needed to be brought in for further care, Jarosz said. Eventually, veterinarians deemed it necessary to bring him to the aquarium.
Meatloaf now swims in the aquarium’s sea turtle rehabilitation area, which opened in January. The 4,000-gallon pool was designed to accommodate rescued sea turtles found in Los Angeles County.
The pool is open for public viewing, giving visitors the opportunity to watch the recovery of marine animals in real time.
Officials say Meatloaf’s ordeal highlights a broader issue facing marine wildlife off the Southern California coast.
(Aquarium of the Pacific)
According to Jarosz, this visibility helps educate the public about the complexities and specifics of the marine animal rehabilitation process.
Meatloaf isn’t the first turtle to call the pool home. Before them, there was Porkchop, who was also rescued from the San Gabriel River with similar front flipper injuries.
According to Jarosz he eventually had to have his flipper amputated. After a year of post-amputation evaluation to ensure he could survive independently, Porkchop was released back into the wild in February and has since been seen swimming with other sea turtles.
The Aquarium of the Pacific is one of only two facilities in Southern California with dedicated sea turtle rehabilitation space, a distinction that puts it at the center of the region’s efforts to protect this increasingly endangered species. The other is SeaWorld San Diego.
