Adopt a Sea Turtle to Help Animal Welfare & Save Endangered Species

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Help! Sea turtles are being sold as food and shell products. YOU can make a difference by adopting a rescued turtle.

Turtles caught from ocean
Smuggled by poachers
Stuffed in sacks for sale
Packaged in shipping boxes
Sold in restaurants
Shells made into bracelets
Assorted turtle shell products
Turtles as trophy wall mount
Turtle products sold on streets
Turtle products sold in malls

Volunteers tubefeeding a sick sea turtle.

Adopting a sea turtle from China helps provide funds for proper food, including vegetables and seafood, that meet the strict nutritional requirements of rescued sea turtles. Additionally, vitamins and minerals are supplemented with their food to maintain a healthy body condition with strong immunity against diseases. Your adoption also supports the local caretaker in the daily cleaning and maintenance of the animal's environment to ensure a safe habitat. We rescue stranded, injured and sick sea turtles, and your adoption of one of these guys (or girls) provides medical care to a rescued sea turtle who might not otherwise survive.

Photo from the Department of Land and Natural Resources reminding the public not to touch turtles as shown here.

Adopting a sea turtle from Hawaii helps our volunteers provide public education and protection to a wild sea turtle who might otherwise be harassed by the public. In Hawaii, wild sea turtles are often seen swimming in near shore waters and resting in the sand (basking) along coastal beaches. Depending on the local educational efforts, this higher rate of direct encounters with the public can either be positive or negative for the conservation of the species. The bad news is that the turtles become easy targets of harassment and touching by tourists, which disturbs the natural behavior of sea turtles with negative impacts to the environment. The good news is that if observed from a safe distance, turtle encounters with people provide meaningful experiences, giving rise to personal stories about turtles, which inspire people to take on positive attitudes and behaviors toward conserving ocean and beaches for sea turtles, such as properly disposing the plastic pollution that turtles accidentally eat, and fishing lines that turtles accidentally get entangled in. Since many tourists who visit Hawaii are from other countries, our educational outreach efforts have a positive impact on the conservation of marine turtles globally. As the United Nations once said, "Education is the great equalizer of our time. It gives hope to the hopeless and creates chances for those without."

Yao Ming adopts sea turtle and receives certificate from Sea Turtles 911

NBA Basketball Hall of Famer Yao Ming receives Certificate of Adoption from Sea Turtles 911.

There are four (4) levels of adoption that can help prevent these majestic animals from disappearing on our planet. Each level provides us with different amounts of financial support for the caregiving of rescued sea turtles and educational outreach efforts to save the endangered species. All levels include an official certificate to formalize the symbolic adoption of your sea turtle. Certificates have a quick-response (QR) code on the bottom right corner, which can be scanned with a smartphone to verify the authenticity of the document. See sample certificate here.

You will also get a personal webpage for the adoption, which you can share online with your family and friends. This is a great way to surprise someone on a birthday or holiday with a personalized, online gift in their honor! See sample personal webpage here.

TURTLES UP FOR ADOPTION

Patient Name: Squirt
Species: Green

Hello, my name is Squirt and I hatched out of my egg too early because I heard people talking outside my eggshell that I became very curious and wanted to come out and play! When I came out of my eggshell, I crawled as fast as I could but could not find the ocean but kept hitting my head against a wall - Ouch! I found myself with my brothers and sisters in a styrofoam box instead of the sandy beach. Like many of my brothers and sisters who were not born on a natural beach, I was born prematurely and felt so tired and weak. Luckily, the nice volunteers at Sea Turtles 911 found me and saved me! I love swimming fast to prove to everyone I'm ready for the ocean but they say my shell is not hard enough yet to be safe out there. I'm eating as much as possible everyday so one day I'll grow up big and strong - ready to take on the big ocean!
Bronze turtle adoption

Patient Name: Speckles
Species: Hawksbill

Hello, my name is Speckles and I am proud of the shell that I carry on my back! It is made from the same material as fingernails and has a unique speckle-like pattern to it. Sadly, some humans think its so pretty that they wanted my turtle shell to make into jewelry products. Luckily, I was rescued by Sea Turtles 911 in time before they could take away my precious shell. In my new home at the hospital, I've learned that not all humans are bad. I'm a super friendly turtle and absolutely love the attention from my new human friends who are so good to me - they even clean and feed me!
Bronze turtle adoption

Patient Name: Chunk
Species: Loggerhead

Hello, my name is Chunk and I’m one hungry turtle but like many of my other turtle brothers and sisters, I accidentally ate a plastic bag because I thought it was a jellyfish! I got really sick and could not swim anymore. The ocean waves carried me all the way onto a beach where I was stranded and all these humans came to see me and suddenly I was on the local news media! They called Sea Turtles 911 and rescued me; volunteers first put a lifevest around me so I would not drown - I was just so weak I could not even swim up to the water surface to breathe! I'm feeling better now so they just put their wet T-shirt on my shell so it doesn't dry out too much. I heard on CNN news that after I fully recover, I'll be released with a satellite tracker so the good people at Sea Turtles 911 know where I am and can keep protecting me whereever I go in the huge ocean! I'm still trying to get back in shape so I can dive down again to catch my favorite food: crabs and clams!
Bronze turtle adoption

Patient Name: Lucky
Species: Green

Hello, my name is Lucky. I was badly hurt from being entangled in fishing lines one day. I lost my left flipper because the fishing line wrapped around it so tightly that I could not feel my flipper anymore! I was very lucky that Sea Turtles 911 was able to save me because now I am getting better and happier again. I may be missing a flipper, but that doesn’t stop me from swimming around all day, especially in circles! With my lucky right flipper, I can swim in only one direction so I get really dizzy sometimes if I go too fast. I heard the student volunteers are trying to get one of those expensive prosthetic flippers for me - how exciting! I wish more humans are educated about not throwing away their fishing lines in the water so my brother and sisters do not lose their flippers too...with so much pollution in the ocean now, it's dangerous out there these days!
Bronze turtle adoption

Patient Name: Valentine
Species: Green

Hello, my name is Valentine. Volunteers from Sea Turtles 911 found me on the beach of Hawaii, covered with tumors on my face and flipper. Some of my turtle brothers and sisters are also affected by this disease. Experts call it fibropapillomatosis, or just "FP", and say that there are many factors that can cause it, including pollution and contaminants in the ocean. It makes me very sad to know that the ocean continues to be polluted and that there are many other animals out there like me who get sick and need help. Doctors say that if my tumors continue to grow bigger on my face and flippers, it will cover my eyes and flippers completely and I won't be able to see and move anymore! I am so scared of this...how will I find and eat food like jellyfish, keeping their numbers down so they don't sting people? Please tell people to do a better job at cleaning up their trash and waste, so my tumors will hopefully grow smaller and eventually disappear on its own.
Bronze turtle adoption

Patient Name: Stubby
Species: Green

Hello, my name is Stubby. When I was young, I got entangled with fishing lines and lost my front right flipper. The accident left me with a cute little stub, so that's where I got my name. I am fine now and can still swim well without a flipper. I love to sleep under the rock ledges around the coral reefs of Hawaii. When I come up to the surface to breathe, I often see the volunteers of Sea Turtles 911 visiting me from a boat, where they educate people on how to fish around sea turtles to prevent future accidents like mine from happening again.
Bronze turtle adoption

Thank you for lending a flipper!

With your adoption, the good people at Sea Turtles 911 will have the support to work for the rights and lives of sea turtles - giving hope for a better future.

Wherever you are, you can join the global 911 volunteer team to help turtles from anywhere!