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Plans to Safely Release Addy

FOR RELEASE: 7/21/21

The Tybee Island Marine Science Center plans to safely release Addy the loggerhead sea turtle.

(Tybee Island, GA) – Just days after her third birthday, Addy, the Tybee Island Marine Science Center’s famous loggerhead sea turtle, will safely return to the ocean. The Science Center’s staff will release Addy on Wednesday, July 28 off of the middle crossover at Tybee’s North Beach parking lot.

“This is exciting for Addy and all of us who have followed her progress since she was rescued from a trash can in 2018,” Cathy Sakas, president of the Tybee Island Marine Science Center’s Board of Trustees said. “When she first arrived at our center, she was less than two inches long and she only weighed seven tenths of an ounce (about the same as a 60-watt lightbulb). Addy has grown by leaps and bounds over the last three years since she and five nestmates were saved from a trashcan in a bathtub in Admiral Inn on Tybee. The housekeeper knew just what to do by calling this center. Our husbandry staff, led by our outstanding senior staff member Chantal Audran, have successfully kept up with Addy’s appetite, and by the time of her release she will be a whopping 35 pounds!”

Sakas explained that since this special turtle had grown so large, she was raring to begin her life in the great Atlantic Ocean where she will continue to grow. Addy passed her extensive health examination conducted by the staff of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC,) led by Executive Director Dr. Terry Norton, a well-known veterinarian. The GSTC has been a close partner of the Marine Science Center for over a decade, and they continue to help each other when opportunities arise.

“While at the GSTC, Addy was tagged and chipped, so when she returns to Tybee’s beach in 20 years to lay her own nest–perhaps in 2041–we will know it is her,” Sakas noted. “We are so thankful for everyone who helped her along the way, from the Admiral Inn housekeeper who rescued her to our fantastic staff, the GSTC, and everyone who donated money to help Addy transition from her old, small tank in our original facility on the strand at Tybee’s South Beach to her temporary home at our long-time partner’s tank at the Burton 4-H Center. From the 4-H Center she was to transition to her new tank in the undercroft of our new marine science center at 37 Meddin Drive, but Addy grew exponentially faster than expected and it became time to release her. Contributions made to Addy’s Adventure will go towards maintaining the new 4,600-gallon tank that will hold our younger loggerhead sea turtle hatchling when he outgrows his current tank in the West Gallery on the main floor.”

Addy by the numbers

Initial stats in 2018

  • Weight 17 grams (.7 oz)
  • Length 4.5 cm (1.8″)
  • Width 4 cm (1.6″) She was half as heavy as a 60-watt light bulb!

Stats at time of 2021 release

  • Weight – 25.6 kg (56.4 lbs.) 2
  • Length – 68.9 cm (27″)
  • Width – 56.2 cm (22″)

Tybee Island Marine Science Center’s capital campaign is still underway to help raise funds for the remaining exhibits, and the Center encourages people to go to their website, https://bringingtheoutsidein.org/

About the Tybee Island Marine Science Center: Our mission is to cultivate a responsible stewardship of coastal Georgia’s natural resources through education, conservation, and research. For more information, please go to tybeemarinescience.org.

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