The Cook Museum of Natural Science is now home to a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, which is the most endangered sea turtle species in the world. 

DECATUR — The Cook Museum of Natural Science, located in Decatur, is now home to a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, which is the most endangered sea turtle species in the world. The turtle, whose name is Kale, arrived at the Cook Museum in June and is housed in the museum’s 15,000-gallon saltwater aquarium located inside the Oceans Exhibit.

Kale was transferred to the Cook Museum from the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center, a facility that rescues and rehabilitates sea turtles and other marine animals so they can be released back into the wild. 

Kale, while still a juvenile, was hooked by a recreational fisherman off a pier on Chesapeake Bay in Virginia in 2019. Due to his injuries, it was determined Kale would require medical attention from time to time, making him a non-releasable sea turtle. 

Cook Museum staff and veterinarians now monitor his condition and give him the care he needs to have a chance at a long and happy life. The Kemp’s ridley sea turtle is currently listed as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and has been on the U.S.’s endangered species list since the 1970s.

Museum visitors will be able to see Kale in the Oceans Exhibit when the Museum reopens on Wednesday, July 8. The Museum has been closed since March 15. 

Starting July 8, the hours of operation for all areas of the museum will be 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays; 9 a.m.-6 p.m Saturdays; and noon-5 p.m. Sundays.