Aquarium Celebrity Spotlight: Myrtle the Green Sea Turtle

A multi-generational talent

Myrtle is not the most social when it comes to other animals, and enriches her days “through her curiosity and harassing us, the divers,” Chris laughed. In the 90s, Myrtle did share the exhibit with a male green sea turtle who courted her for about a decade, but Myrtle was consistently uninterested in his advances.

Myrtle continues to have plenty of human admirers coming to visit her exhibit. These encounters span generations. It’s not uncommon for a parent—or even a grandparent—to be able to tell their little ones that Myrtle is the same turtle they visited as a kid.

For over half a century, Myrtle has been quietly working as an ambassador, sparking her fans’ interest in green sea turtles, a species that is slowly rebounding and, until recently, was endangered across much of the world, threatened by overfishing, pollution, and climate change. Myrtle’s regular physicals, blood draws, ultrasounds, and range-of-motion checks on her flippers, help scientists understand how these turtles age and heal, knowledge that aids in rescuing turtles in the wild. Researchers have even learned by working with Myrtle that sea turtles can be trained to respond to underwater sounds, a finding that might one day steer wild turtles away from danger.

In short, Myrtle advances her species’ cause simply by being her magnificent self.

Visit the Aquarium to say hello to Myrtle and thousands of other animals in our care!