CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Who is ready to meet Brookfield Zoo's newest resident?
Earlier this month, Brookfield Zoo received Pistachio, a critically endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle. After giving her time to get acclimated to her new 36,000-gallon home, she is now ready to meet everyone -- virtually. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the zoo's Living Coast is currently closed, but animal care staff want to share Pistachio's story with the public and talk about how she is doing since her arrival from The Florida Aquarium.
Upon arriving at Brookfield Zoo on September 9, Pistachio, an approximately 13-year-old Kemp's ridley sea turtle, received a wellness exam by veterinary staff.Jim Schulz/Chicago Zoological Society
On Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 11 a.m., the "Bringing the Zoo to You" Facebook Live chat will feature Pistachio. Andy Snider, curator of herpetology and aquatics for the Chicago Zoological Society, which manages the zoo, will lead the introduction and narrate the chat, during which the public can also write in questions.
Those who miss the live chat, will be able to watch it on the zoo's Facebook page or Youtube channel.
In 2012, the approximately 13-year-old sea turtle was found in the Gulf of Mexico near Cedar Key, Florida, where she was struck by a recreational boat propeller. The severe injuries she sustained, including wounds to her skull and the front of her carapace (top shell), left Pistachio partially blind in her left eye. She also has some partial paralysis in her rear flipper, and has experienced conformational changes to her shell—it grows differently now than it should. Pistachio also failed a live prey trial, leading the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to deem her non-releasable back to the wild, the zoo said in a statement.
"The mission of The Florida Aquarium is to save wildlife, especially the most vulnerable species who, without our aid, would no longer exist in the natural world," said Roger Germann, president & CEO of The Florida Aquarium. "Extinction is forever, which is why we remained fiercely committed to providing the best care for Pistachio in order to give her a second chance at life. Knowing Pistachio will spend the next chapter of her life thriving at Brookfield Zoo is not only rewarding for all of us at The Florida Aquarium, but it's personally meaningful to me because Brookfield Zoo is where I grew up enjoying and learning about wildlife."
Pistachio, a Kemp's ridley sea turtle has a new home at Brookfield Zoo. He arrived on September 9 from The Florida Aquarium in Tampa.Jim Schulz/Chicago Zoological Society
After being rescued, Pistachio was taken to The Florida Aquarium, which is about 120 miles south of Cedar Key, before being transferred to Brookfield Zoo.
The Kemp's ridley sea turtle is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species. Including injuries and deaths from vessel strikes, additional threats to the species are ocean pollution, entanglement in fishing gear, climate change, and oil spills.
Found primarily in coastal areas throughout the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic coast of the United States, the Kemp's ridley sea turtle has a greenish-grey colored carapace and the underside is pale yellow. It is among the smallest sea turtle, reaching only about 2 feet in shell length and weighing up to 100 pounds. Pistachio still has some growing to do—she currently measures about 1.5 feet in length and weighs just over 35 pounds, the zoo said.
