This remarkable image of Pyrite aka Christy is an X-ray from the medical professionals at the Sea Turtle Care Center at the SC Aquarium. You can see the hook running sideways near the back of the turtle's skull. Thankfully, this has since been removed! This picture gives us a cool skeletal anatomy lesson, but you can also see some of the musculature and you can distinctly see both the gastrointestinal tract and what is in it! Juvenile Kemp's ridley sea turtles of this size are generally transitioning between feeding on seaweed and pelagic crabs at the surface to feeding on mollusks and crabs on the ocean floor. As you can see, Pyrite had been feeding on lots of moon snails and periwinkle mollusks before being caught.
For more information on what to do if you catch a sea turtle while fishing, please see our article on the topic:
https://www.siturtlepatrol.com/news/2021/5/16/sea-turtles-amp-fishing-bycatch
Activities depicted are authorized conservation activities by licensed individuals under DNR permit #MTP541. This medical image was taken at a licensed care facility by trained professionals. All sea turtle species are classified as endangered or threatened and are protected under the Endangered Species Act in addition to local and state ordinances.
