This week brought more than just sunshine to Ocean City. The National Aquarium released two rehabilitated sea turtles back into the ocean on Thursday, just a few days after World Sea Turtle Day.

Ichthyocentaur, or Icky for short, and Mothman, two Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, were cleared for release after suffering injuries from boat strikes and cold stunning, a condition due to rapidly cooling waters that weaken the turtles and make them prone to health issues.

Hundreds of people, some who were just lucky to stumble on the sea turtle release, lined the designated release area.

“We don’t often get to involve the public in our releases just because of how infrequently they happen in our area,” said Caitlin Bovery, rehabilitation manager for the National Aquarium.

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Icky was rescued in Massachusetts in November of last year and transported to Baltimore for long-term rehabilitation, along with 35 other cold-stunned sea turtles.

The Animal Rescue team released 26 of those sea turtles earlier this year in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, after a 17-hour drive from Baltimore.

Mothman was rescued in Dundalk, Maryland, in December of last year. Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan helped release Mothman back into Maryland waters.

A crowd watches as Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan and a National Aquarium staff member carry a sea turtle through the sand.
Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan and a National Aquarium staff member give a lift back into the water. (National Aquarium)

“It was really exciting to get to do this today in Ocean City and to celebrate with our partners at the Town of Ocean City with our stranding response center,” said Bovery.

The aquarium has a stranding response center based in Ocean City that helps them respond faster to sea turtle strandings.

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If you’re wondering where the turtles’ names came from, so were we. The aquarium adopts a naming theme each year for its rescued sea turtles and seals. Last year’s theme was mythological creatures.

Seals rescued this year were named Arcadia, Evergreen and Montebello following the new theme: Baltimore neighborhoods. The aquarium hopes this will engage the local community.

Arcadia was released just under a month ago at Assateague Island State Park.

The National Aquarium shared photos of their rehabilitated sea turtles for World Sea Turtle Day on Monday.

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