WEST ORANGE -- Essex County's Turtle Back Zoo has officially welcomed its new partner, a rehabilitation center that will nurse sick turtles back to health.
County and zoo officials gathered Friday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Sea Turtle Recovery, which has been operating in a new $2 million building on Turtle Back's campus since the end of December.
So far, the facility, which is run by an independent nonprofit group, has treated 11 cold-stunned turtles, mostly Kemp's ridley sea turtles, that were suffering from respiratory infections and other related ailments.
Bill Deerr, the co-executive officer of the Sea Turtle Recovery, said four of the turtles should be ready to be released into waters off the coast or Florida by the end of the month.
All of the turtles treated at the facility, he said, are endangered.
Sea Turtle Recovery Center opens at the Turtle Back Zoo"We really need to protect each and every turtle," Deerr said in a phone interview Friday.
Depending on the severity of the condition and its size, it takes an average of $1,000 to $2,000 to rehabilitate each turtle, Deerr said. The move to the Turtle Back Zoo, he said, should help the nonprofit raise more funds, which will allow it to take in and treat more turtles.
"It's been great. It seems like the public is really embracing us,' he said. "This raises awareness (and hopefully) will allow us to take in more funding," which it gets through grants and donations, he said.
The recovery is open to the public, and visitors to the zoo can stop in to see the recuperating turtles. It is the only recovery of its kind in the state.
The 15,000 square foot facility was funded by a mix of the county's capital improvement budget, and donations from Prudential Insurance, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, PSE&G and the Matrix Development Group.
"This project is a great example of how zoos and animal rescue organizations can work to save animals and raise the public's awareness about the dangers animals face," Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo said in a statement when the project was nearing completion.
"The facility fills a great need and will help protect the very animals after which our zoo is named."
Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
