How we know this: every fact below was read on 21 September 2026 from Sea Turtle, Inc.’s own website — the founder page (seaturtleinc.org/about/ila-loetscher/), the Plan Your Visit page for hours and admission, the home page for the new hospital, the Residents index, the individual pages for Gerry and Allison, and the Sea Turtle Releases & Nesting Season page. Left out of the draft we started from: a “Hatchling Hotline” telephone number, which appears nowhere on seaturtleinc.org — releases are announced on the organisation’s Facebook page and by text to members, not on a public hotline; an age for Gerry; and a 1990s arrival date for Allison, which her own page contradicts.
Conservation, rehabilitation and resident ambassadors
Sea Turtle, Inc. traces back to 1965, when the former pilot Ila Fox Loetscher (30 October 1904 – 4 January 2000) began caring for sea turtles and drawing curious visitors to her South Padre Island home. By 1977 she was receiving so many guests that she formed the present non-profit. Today the organisation runs an education centre and marine hospital at 6617 Padre Blvd.
Hours, admission and planning a visit
The facility is open Tuesday through Sunday and is closed Monday for maintenance. Sea Turtle, Inc. publishes two seasonal schedules:
- Off season (11 August – 31 May): 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Tuesday to Sunday.
- Summer season (1 June – 9 August): 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Tuesday to Sunday.
Admission is credit or debit card only: $15 for adults 18 and over, $10 for seniors 65+ and any adult with a military ID, $8 for students aged 12–17, $5 for children aged 5–11, and free from newborn through age 4. Holiday hours are posted separately and do not apply when the facility is closed for its regular Monday maintenance. The office line is (956) 761-4511.
The new marine hospital
Sea Turtle, Inc. has opened a new Sea Turtle Hospital spanning over 15,000 square feet, which the organisation describes as the largest enclosed sea turtle hospital in the world. It frames the building as a milestone in its mission to advance sea turtle recovery, education and conservation.
Meet the residents
Permanent, non-releasable residents serve as educators and ambassadors. Those currently listed on exhibit are Gerry, Bagua, Cowboy, Hang Ten, Merry Christmas and Poppy.
- Gerry is a male Atlantic green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) weighing 220 pounds. He stranded on 10 August 1980 as a result of a hurricane and has been in the organisation’s care since.
- Allison is memorialised rather than on exhibit. A female Atlantic green, she washed up on the South Padre Island beach on 16 June 2005 having lost three of her four flippers. Sea Turtle, Inc. staff, volunteers and interns researched a prosthesis that would let her swim again — one of the first successful sea turtle prosthetic devices in the world. She was a resident for 18 years and died on 31 July 2023.
Public hatchling releases — and how they are announced
The 2026 nesting season officially opened on 1 April, and Sea Turtle, Inc. publishes a running nesting calendar of every nest it logs, with the eggs laid, an estimated hatch window and the number of hatchlings released. In the 2026 table those hatch dates run from early June into August.
- Where: public releases are held at Cameron County Beach Access 4, at the north end of the island. The organisation stresses that this is a Cameron County access, not a City of South Padre Island access.
- When: there are two possible release times, 6:45 AM and 7:45 AM. Because hatching is a natural process, days and times cannot be set in advance.
- How you find out: the decision is made early in the morning. Members receive a text message the moment a release is called; everyone else should check the Sea Turtle, Inc. Facebook page between 5:00 and 7:00 AM daily during the season. There is no public hatchling telephone hotline.
Stranded, injured or cold-stunned turtles: call the 24-hour emergency line at (956) 243-4361. Only permitted individuals may handle sea turtles.
Note for visitors planning further afield: Padre Island National Seashore, near Corpus Christi, runs its own separate hatchling releases at the Malaquite Visitor Center and has its own recorded Hatchling Hotline on (361) 949-7163. That is a different park and a different programme.
Sources
- seaturtleinc.org/about/ila-loetscher/ — Ila Fox Loetscher’s dates, her 1965 start and the 1977 formation of the non-profit.
- seaturtleinc.org/visit/ — seasonal opening hours, Monday maintenance closure, and the full admission price list.
- seaturtleinc.org — the new hospital: over 15,000 square feet and described as the largest enclosed sea turtle hospital in the world.
- seaturtleinc.org/category/turtles/residents/ — the list of full-time residents.
- seaturtleinc.org/turtles/gerry-atlantic-green/ — Gerry’s species, sex, weight and 10 August 1980 hurricane stranding.
- seaturtleinc.org/turtles/allison/ — Allison’s 16 June 2005 arrival, her prosthesis, her 18 years as a resident and her death on 31 July 2023.
- seaturtleinc.org/sea-turtle-releases/ — the 1 April 2026 season opening, the nesting calendar, Cameron County Beach Access 4, the 6:45 and 7:45 AM slots, and the Facebook/member-text announcement window of 5–7 AM.
- nps.gov/pais/planyourvisit/hatchlingreleases.htm — that Padre Island National Seashore runs a separate release programme at Malaquite with its own hotline.