Adopt Stubby!

No, not me silly. I don't need to be adopted. Mom would never put me up for adoption - who would she cuddle with at night?

I always thought that I was the only Stubby in the world, but leave it to mom to find another Stubby. This new Stubby is not a replacement for me, but think of him as a long, lost brother.

Stubby is a Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas). That's right. My namesake is a sea turtle. Big surprise, huh? Stubby lives at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida. He lost both front flippers due to entanglement in monofilament fishing line. What is mom always telling you about littering? See what happens when you don't dispose of fishing line properly? Poor little Stubby!

The people at the aquarium do not know how old Stubby is because he was found stranded on a beach in Florida on May 9, 2001. Stubby is unable to submerge and swim properly, so he cannot feed himself. Lucky for him the nice staff and volunteers hand feed him. Stubby eats vegetables, but the rest of his food, squid and capelin, sound yucky to me. I will stick with my Bill Jack, Popeyes, McRibs, bacon, and scrambled eggs. Just kidding. Due to my new dietary restrictions (thanks mom!), I am only fed Bill Jack. If I really ate all that food I would weigh as much as Stubby - 90 pounds.

Due to his inability to feed himself, Stubby is a permanent resident at Clearwater Marine Aquarium. He lives in the Upper Mangrove exhibit, a 10,000 gallon shallow pool that he shares with Molly, a Kemp’s Ridley who lost her left front flipper to a shark attack. Yikes! What a tough chick she is. She was also missing her left rear flipper upon arriving there, so she is permanent resident.


Stubby would not have a home if it weren't for the great people at Clearwater Marine Aquarium. According to their website, their mission is to restore and preserve our marine environment. They accomplish their mission through leadership in education, research, and the rescue, rehabilitation, & release of marine life. This is just what mom is always talking about. Educating people about marine life is critical to conservation efforts. Research is moms first love and she would literally pay to participate in rescue efforts. She would probably even work there if we lived down in Clearwater. You know how much she loves sea turtles and dad would love for her to get a full time job.

If you are in the Clearwater area, stop by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium to visit Stubby. If you cannot get to Clearwater, you can always visit him virtually at http://www.cmaquarium.org/. And of course, he is available for adoption. His adoption fee is $40.00 which is a small price to pay to ensure that this little guy lives a nice long life, educating visits about the plight of sea turtles. He is a really good looking guy (but not as cute as me) and I hope that I can visit him in person someday.