Amos Rehabilitation Keep - ARK at UT Marine Science Institute

09/11/2026

Leonard was one of the juvenile Green Sea Turtles who returned to the bay today!

Leonard, like many other Green Sea Turtles, are caught up in the rocks as they travel along the jetties and passes between the Gulf and the bays. These turtles become entrapped in the rocks, become bruised and scratched, and often times have pneumonia which is only detectable with x-rays.

After Leonard's course of antibiotics and a stable weight gain, he was tagged and cleared for release!

09/10/2026

09/07/2026

A couple of the American Barn Owls that were raised at the ARK this year which were released this week! As barn owls are highly nocturnal, we release these guys at night back into the area where they were originally found!

09/04/2026

We'd like to thank Nikki Ikonomopoulos for her continued support of the ARK! Nikki produces the Port Aransas Wildlife books that can be picked up around town and donates the proceeds back to the Port Aransas community to support conservation and restoration work! Thanks Nikki!

09/04/2026

Several more juvenile Green Sea Turtles returned to the wild yesterday morning in Redfish Bay! 🐢

08/28/2026

Back in May, our volunteer Neesy rescued this Brown Pelican from the beach who was found with a fractured wing. Upon examination, we found this bird had a gunshot wound resulting in a fractured ulna. After a few months of recovery, this bird returned to the wild this week!

08/22/2026

Thank you to all our amazing volunteers who assisted today getting the ARK all cleaned up!!

08/14/2026

Jetty entrapment continues to be one of our primary causes of sea turtle admission! These two turtles, named Daryl and Murray, were rescued today.

Both of these turtles sustained scratches and abrasions with some bleeding from the rocks and are now being cared for at the ARK!

Please call 1-866-TURTLE-5 if you encounter a jetty trapped turtle and select the appropriate number for your area. If we are on the line with another caller, please leave a message and we’ll call you right back. Please do not attempt to rescue or release turtles before responders arrive. Many of these turtles benefit from medical care, and there are safety risks to both turtle and people for untrained responders, sometimes even situations where well meaning individuals may inadvertently push turtles further under the rocks making rescue efforts more difficult or impossible.

Thank you to everyone who reports stranded, nesting, and deceased turtles to us! Because of vigilant people out sharing the same spaces as these animals, they can get a second chance!

08/12/2026

Our amazing volunteer Ada found this immature Masked B***y lethargic, thin, beached, and covered in parasites at Mustang Island State Park - Texas Parks and Wildlife during a turtle patrol just over two months ago! Today, he was ready to be returned to the wild!

08/04/2026

This adult Great Horned Owl was released this week about an hour before dusk! This owl was brought to us by a Kleberg county sheriff after being found stuck to a barbed wire fence. Thankfully, the damage was minimal and the wounds healed quickly.

Adult Great Horned Owls are thought have a home territory of only 1.5 square miles and the parents provide supplemental support for their babies until about September or October of each year, when the babies then disperse and set up on their own territories usually within 20 miles of where they were born. This is one of the reasons we ask for specific rescue locations when we admit these animals, so they can be returned exactly back into their own home territory, especially when they may still be supporting offspring!

This owl returned back to his territory where thankfully barbed wire fencing is minimal and most landowners are using King Ranch fencing which is a style of heavy duty mesh fencing that lacks the barbed wire component.