Overview
- The juvenile Kemp’s ridley sea turtle known as Pancake was carried to the surf and released off the New York Aquarium at Coney Island on Thursday after months of rehabilitation.
- Pancake was found cold‑stunned on Duck Harbor Beach in Wellfleet, Massachusetts on November 22, 2025 and received emergency care at the New England Aquarium.
- On December 3 Pancake and 24 other Kemp’s ridley turtles were moved to AMSEAS’s Sea Turtle Care Facility in Westhampton Beach for longer‑term treatment and feeding practice.
- New York state funding from the Environmental Protection Fund and the Oceans and Great Lakes Program supported the rehabilitation and a public release attended by conservation groups, officials, and youth campers.
- A satellite transmitter affixed to Pancake’s shell will report surfacing locations so researchers can track short‑term survival, local habitat use, and help inform future rescue and release efforts; Kemp’s ridleys remain endangered with roughly 9,000 nesting females estimated globally.