We’ve been huge fans of these guys since we first saw them popping up their heads from the water outside of our ocean front room at the Sheraton. And since we’re not avid snorkelers, we get our up-close turtle fix by visiting the Maui Ocean Center instead. Based on this update from the MOC, I think there’s a very good chance we’ll be paying them a visit next month as part of our mini Trip 5. They look too cute to pass up.

More from the newsletter:

Turtles at Maui Ocean Center
Maui Ocean Center cares for a total of 12 green sea turtles; the six new hatchlings and six which are juvenile. While at Maui Ocean Center, the turtles are fed a primarily vegetarian diet, including algae brought from the ocean, to prepare them for their eventual release to the open sea. The turtles were captive-bred at Sea Life Park on Oahu. Sea Life Park is home to a colony of adult Hawaiian green sea turtles which produces 200 to 300 hatchlings each year, most of which are released into the wild. A few of these, including the turtles at Maui Ocean Center, become part of the Hawaii Green Sea Turtle Educational Loan Program and are released at a later age to provide an educational opportunity for those that visit these institutions.

If you happen to be nearby in the next month or so, and hadn’t thought of visiting the ocean center, maybe this might change your mind.

In fact, I remember shooting video from the Turtle Lagoon exhibit at the MOC a few years ago that I posted on YouTube. Grant it, I spend way more time working with Photoshop than editing movies, so the quality has a lot to be desired, but it’s still fun. Someday I’ll get around to tweaking the quality.

In any case, here you go.

More Honu Love

• Sunday Photo: Grumpy Honu
• Sunday Photo: Swimming Honu
• Sights & Tours: Maui Ocean Center
• Maui by Photo: Maui Ocean Center
• Official Website: Maui Ocean Center