Endangered rescue sea turtle flown across country to new home at SEA LIFE Kansas City
By Chloe Godding, Dorissa White
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KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KMBC) — A rescue sea turtle was flown more than 1,000 miles to her new, forever home in Kansas City last week.
Kempsville the turtle traveled across the country from Baltimore to SEA LIFE Kansas City Aquarium, located at Crown Center. Kempsville is a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, which is the most critically endangered sea turtle species in the world.
The turtle’s rescue journey began in May 2023, according to a SEA LIFE spokesperson, when Kempsville was found caught on a fishing hook off the coast of Virginia Beach. Kempsville underwent surgery and long-term rehabilitation after the procedure. Animal rescue experts also provided care for Kempsville’s arthritis in her front flippers, which prevented her from passing a necessary swim test.
Ultimately, experts determined that Kempsville could not be returned to sea and needed human care.
That’s where SEA LIFE Kansas City stepped in.
Turtles Fly Too, an organization that has helped transport 4,000 turtles, made sure that Kempsville was secure and safe for her flight to the Kansas City aquarium, her new home.
Now, Kempsville will spend the rest of her days in the care of SEA LIFE Kansas City. She will be the only permanent Kemp’s ridley sea turtle in Missouri.
SEA LIFE Kansas City is on a mission to promote conservation through education and outreach.
“There’s a very real threat and danger of losing them in the wild, of them going extinct,” said Kayla Leyden, SEA LIFE curator. “So she is here to represent all of the Kemp’s ridleys that live in and around our local beaches. And she’s here to help our guests understand how they can protect sea turtles, even in the Midwest, even in Kansas City, and how our actions every day impact the lives of these animals and what we can do protect them.”
For now, Kempsville is housed in the small aquarium, but when she gets older, she’ll join green sea turtles Lou and Gertrude, who were also rescued.
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