Kemp’s ridley / Loggerhead Hybrid Turtle Tagged at Jekyll Island

Posted on June 15, 2026

Sometimes a research opportunity is too good to pass up. Though the focus of the Kemp’s Ridley and Green Sea Turtle Tagging for Availability Bias project is to learn more about the dive behavior of those two species, when our partners at Jekyll Island Authority and Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GTSC) discovered they had a hybrid sea turtle in their rehabilitation facility, they reached out to us to see if it could be tagged with a tag from this project. Hybrid sea turtles are rare, but may be becoming more common as populations recover, and ranges expand and shift due to recovery or in response to climate change. Tagging this hybrid turtle allows us to compare behavior to non-hybrids of both species and increase our knowledge of how hybrid turtles behave in general. The dive data from the hybrid will not be included in Navy’s analysis of Kemp’s ridley and green turtle dive behavior but it will be made available to the broader sea turtle community, providing a valuable resource that can be combined with our limited information on other hybrids, and increasing our depth of knowledge.

Kemp's ridley/Loggerhead sea turtle hybrid

The hybrid turtle, named Earl Grey, was originally rescued after being found cold-stunned in Brewster, Massachusetts, in November 2025. The turtle was initially admitted to the New England Aquarium before being transferred to the GTSC via airplane as part of a group of cold-stunned sea turtles needing long-term rehabilitation and care. Upon arrival to GSTC, veterinary staff noticed that Earl Grey displayed a unique combination of physical characteristics associated with both loggerhead and Kemp's ridley sea turtles, including a rounder shell shape, distinct shell ridges, and a slightly hooked beak. These unusual traits prompted the team to pursue genetic testing in partnership with the University of Georgia. The results confirmed Earl Grey as a first-generation hybrid, with a loggerhead father and a Kemp's ridley mother—the first hybrid sea turtle ever treated at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center! During approximately six months of rehabilitation, Earl Grey received supportive care for the effects of cold-stunning, including gradual rewarming, treatment for secondary infections, regular health monitoring, and nutritional support.

After making a full recovery, Earl Grey was successfully released back into the Atlantic Ocean from Jekyll Island, GA in May 2026, with a Navy-funded, satellite-linked depth recorder. After a week of satellite tracking, Earl Grey has moved slightly north, currently taking up residence in the Hampton River, between St. Simons and Little St. Simons Island, GA. Kemp’s ridley turtles often take up residence in tidally driven estuarine or brackish river systems, so for now Earl Grey seems to be taking after their mother!

Kemp's ridley/Loggerhead sea turtle hybrid location map