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Just steps from New York’s historic Coney Island boardwalk lies an endangered olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) called Pancake was released today into the Atlantic Ocean. An excited crowd cheered and waved homemade signs supporting Pancake. The turtle officially returned to the water at 1:13 pm EDT, as a crowd applauded the little reptile: “Pancake, Pancake, Pancake!”
Pancake reaches the ocean
“Is [the release] “It’s important because they are an endangered species,” says Dr. Maia Austin, a postdoctoral researcher with the Wildlife Conservation Society’s New York Bight program. Popular science. “They’ve been a huge conservation success story, in the sense that they had a really big population decline in the ’70s, and through a lot of great international conservation efforts, it’s really recovering. So I think every person we can help is a huge success for all of us.”
Representatives from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), New York State Department of State (DOS), Atlantic Marine Conservation Society (AMSEAS), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), environmental organizations, elected officials, and New York Aquarium campers and youth leaders gathered on the beach to watch Pancake return home.
Before release, Austin saw Pancake very active and the reptile looked ready to swim away and return home. Pancake will carry a satellite tag on his shell, so the team can monitor his progress.
“I think the success just seems to come back to its habitat and, you know, feed and then hopefully continue its migration back to the Gulf later in the season,” Austin says.
On November 22, 2025, the Massachusetts Audubon Society found Pancake suffering from cold stun in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Pancake was then taken to the New England Aquarium for classification and medical treatment. On December 3, Pancake and 24 other olive ridley sea turtles were transported to the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society (AMSEAS) sea turtle sorting facility in Westhampton Beach, New York, for treatment and rehabilitation.
Pancake weighs 11 pounds and is probably between two and five years old. Over the past seven months, Pancake has bounced back strongly, displaying confident swimming behavior, particularly while chasing shrimp and clams. The sex of the turtle is unknown because this requires a blood test, which is not necessary for rehabilitation.
Olive ridley sea turtles are the smallest sea turtle species. They are found along the entire East Coast, from south to New England. When fully grown, they can weigh between 70 and 100 pounds and grow up to two feet long.
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