Playing Dead

Floaty, our Green Sea Turtle, is dead good at playing… well… dead.

 

Hardly a day goes by without concerned visitors informing our staff of a 'dead' turtle stuck under a rock. Like some of her other friends at the aquarium Floaty likes to wedge her body in tight spots to fall asleep. Ocean currents don't stop when sea animals decide to sleep so many have to find a place to settle down as floating around the open ocean can leave them vulnerable to predators.

 

Floaty is an endangered (IUCN 2012) Green Sea Turtle and she has been with us for 6 years. Floaty was rescued from the wild after she was found to have an injury to her shell. It is believed she was a victim of a boat strike. A bubble formed in her shell making it more difficult for her to dive and feed.

 

While Floaty's condition makes it too hard for her to survive in the wild, she does very well here at the aquarium. We treat her with her favourite food squid all the time and when our divers get in the tank to clean she loves using our hoses as a giant loofa to scrub her shell.

 

Look out for Floaty hanging out with our Lemon Sharks and Smooth Stingrays.

 

To find out more about turtle rehabilitation check out the Sydney Aquarium Conservation Fund (SACF) 'Turtle Watch' Program.