Tide’s Backstory

The zoo didn’t often take on aquatic species. The infrastructure they had for these animals existed, but it was limited. There was one building set up with aquariums and the like that was currently being used for Monterey Platyfish breeding and research. These were small fish, and really only took up the corner closest to the small lab. They were extinct in the wild, and a part of the zoo’s conservation efforts to bring them back. The building wasn’t set up to display any animals, and was mostly identified by the educational posters on the exterior walls. One of the newest staff members had a long standing interest in the rehabilitation of ocean creatures. They became the driving force behind the zoo’s water-dwelling additions.

Tide was the first addition. The male green sea turtle had not come from another zoo or aquarium, in fact, he had a bit of a unique story. He was a curious animal that seemed to have strayed a little far from what would usually be his territory. He became a frequent sight of the local human population around a busy port. They would feed him bits of food and enjoy watching him. The curious turtle started to associate humans with food and safety, bringing him further into the port more frequently. When the tide came in, it was common that he did too — hence the name Tide being bestowed upon him by those that frequented the area. 

On the night of a particularly rough storm, Tide had been swimming around the port. The rough waters had become too difficult for him to fight against. He got slammed against one of the docked fishing boats before getting pushed onto the shore. Tide was exhausted and weak, unable to un-beach himself. In the morning he was found, and a local rescue group was called. His story was explained to them by the fisherman who had found him on the shore that morning. They assessed the situation, and decided to take him back to their recovery centre. It was found that his unusual diet, fed to him by random humans, had given him some digestive troubles. He had likely stopped fishing on his own - mooching purely off whatever he was fed instead. That, combined with the impact with the boat, had him in the rescue center for about two weeks. The workers kept a close eye on his health and made sure he only ate a species specific diet. Tide was very charismatic and friendly, but also would always try to guilt trip humans into giving him their snacks — a ploy that, for his own health, would not work on the rescue workers. At the end of the two weeks, he was deemed healthy enough to move on from the center. They did not want to return him to where he was found, and he was also too tame with humans for the wild. The rescue decided that the best place for him would be a zoo or aquarium that could keep an eye on his health. 

The zoo had gotten a phone call from a nearby rescue, who they had not often worked with. They had a sea turtle that needed a home, and the new aquatic-loving staff member was the one to have answered the call. It got cleared with everyone else and the large tank got set up for him. It was cleaned, sanitized, and filled with water that would be suitable for a sea turtle. It had some rocks and structures to form a habitat, but was mostly open swimming space. When he arrived, he quickly adapted to his new home. The staff was won over by his character, and he became a regular member of the zoo.

As time went on, and it became apparent that the sea turtle was staying, there were thoughts of making an aquatic addition to the zoo where he could be exhibited to the public. He could provide good education, and with how much the staff enjoyed him, the public definitely would too. That project was brought up in a meeting, but got tabled until the budget got sorted out for the upcoming year. In the meantime, he was happy in his current tank. If another zoo came along that was more equipped for the creature, then the zoo would part with him for the turtle’s best interests, but, if all went well, he would have a better home on the property with some other sea creature friends.

The second addition was a lazy male zebra shark. He had come from another zoo who was downsizing and repurposing some buildings. The shark had been raised at the zoo since he was a baby, and had been fairly healthy besides the odd case of worms or minor accidental injury. 

More aquatic animals came to the zoo here and there, but the way had been paved for them by Tide the turtle.