But as the four of us stared at the playful sea cows, there were a couple of other familiar-looking creatures in the huge pool who wanted to say “hi”. Among them was Stitch, a typically cute green turtle who popped up to the surface every few seconds. She seemed to recognise us from our previous visit to her home at SeaWorld Orlando, or at least that’s what I told myself.
We were in the popular Florida theme park’s new Manatee and Turtle Rescue Center, where vulnerable marine animals are nursed back to health after suffering misfortune in the wild. In Stitch’s case, she lost her front flipper out at sea before being brought into SeaWorld to be assessed by the staff and vets. Although Stitch is one of the small percentage of animals whose injuries are too debilitating that they can’t be returned to the ocean (hundreds are released each year), she is being given lifelong care and will now happily live out the rest of her days alongside her fellow green turtle Whitney, as well a few loggerheads, hawksbills, Kemp’s ridleys and leatherbacks at SeaWorld.
Whenever it’s time to celebrate a big birthday or anniversary, it’s nice to meet up with some old friends. And as SeaWorld (the company) celebrates its 60th year my wife Rachel and I, along with our two teenage daughters Isla and Evelyn, hopped on a plane to catch up with Stitch and co. Back in 1964, four UCLA graduates founded the original marine park in San Diego, California, which allowed guests to learn about .