Claudia Lombard of the National Fish
and Wildlife Preserve and Violeta Nueva-Mayeur of the St. Croix Aquarium
pose with Dunkin before his flight.
Click
on the photos to enlarge |
Turtles take the Seaplane,
too!
The St. Croix Aquarium
and Marine Education Center, a non-profit education organization, is temporarily
closing in order to find better facilities and a new director. They
plan to expand the number of species housed in the aquarium and introduce
a science exhibit in hopes of attracting more visitors to the center.
The marine life at the aquarium is captured by divers, nursed and fed
at the aquarium, and then released into its natural environment.
All of their marine life has been released into the wild - except for
one special friend. Dunkin, the green sea turtle.
Dunkin came to the aquarium in December of 1998 after being rescued from
an East End beach. As a one ounce hatchling, Dunkin failed to make it
out of his nest and into the water. If left in the wild, he would have
died. Because he has been under the care of the St. Croix Aquarium since
birth, he has no natural survival skills. Now 4 years old, he weighs approximately
60 pounds. The Aquarium serves as his permanent guardian, but with their
temporary closing, other arrangements needed to be made. Dunkin is to
live at Coral World in St. Thomas. |
The
aquarium asked for assistance from locally owned and operated Seaborne Airlines,
who offer several flights a day between St. Croix, St. Thomas, and Puerto
Rico.
With the dedication of their staff, a custom sized wooden box was built
to easily transport Dunkin on and off the plane. Towels, lettuce, and friend
Claudia Lombard, of the National Fish & Wildlife Division, accompanied
Dunkin on the ride. |
Channel 8 news team interviews Claudia Lombard, travel companion
to Dunkin |
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