The Story of Princess Hope & the Toxic Algae Bloom

Princess Hope Lives Happily Ever After

The Story of Princess Hope & the Toxic Algae Bloom

Hope's story is very similar to one we all know: Disney's Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs, so please enjoy Gulf Specimen's take on her story: Some time ago, on a sandy beach in the panhandle of Florida, little Hope was born and made the dangerous journey to the water and began her life. Many years later, she returned to the same beach to lay eggs of her own to create new life, and decided to hang around in the warm waters and enjoy the sunshine before the cold winter. She soon found herself in very dangerous waters. The evil red tide algae bloom, Karenia brevis, made it's way into the St. George Island waters and was poisoning everything in sight with it's toxins.

On October 20, 2021 this 150-pound, beautiful creature soon found it hard to breathe, impossible to swim, and just very weak and tired, so she decided to drag herself onto the shore to rest. She needed help, and her prince charming answered the call. Called by beachgoers, the Franklin County Sheriff's department came to her rescue! Hope was loaded into his truck and he drove to meet Gulf Specimen staff to hand her off to us. After she arrived at the aquarium, Hope was taken to see Dr. Griggs at Shepard Spring Animal Hospital. Hope was in very bad shape and needed continuous care by Gulf Specimen's best sea turtle team: captain Cypress, keeper Kylee, Dr. Julie O'Brien, excited Ethan, nervous Nick, intern Leslie, and volunteer Vicki. These 7 "dwarfs" worked round-the-clock administering IV fluids, keeping her water clean, and making sure she kept breathing.

After several days of being tucked into her dry-docked tub, this princess was ready to try swimming! With a kiss of hope, her team floated her tub in a shallow tank and let her do the rest. With no hesitation, Hope was out of her tub and swimming around her tank with no problems. Her dwarfs stayed close to monitor her breathing, but all was looking good! After a few days in her new tank, she was ready to start eating. Her dwarfs served up a buffet of fish, squid, scallops, urchins, turkey wing clams, and several crabs. In the beginning, her only interest were the scallops or the clams, but now she will eat cockles, squid, whelks, crabs, and crab claws! As the weeks went by and this princess gained her strength back, we knew it was time for her happily ever after... which will be on Wednesday, January 26th at St. George Island at the public beach access at 3:00pm! We are officially planning Princess Hope's release! We would love to see as many people there as possible to wish this beauty luck as she makes her way back into the sea to continue her long life!

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