Change for Nickel

Marco Island and Southwest Florida are home to many transplanted northerners. This is the story of one Southwest Florida resident who went the other direction, ending up making her home in Chicago.

Not a person, though – we are talking about Nickel, the green sea turtle. From her former abode in the 10,000 Islands just south of Goodland, she has now been a resident of Shedd Aquarium in Chicago for the last 20 years. Nickel is not only a resident at Shedd, she has become a star, one of the featured exhibits at the renowned marine attraction. 

In 2003, Shedd Aquarium embarked on an ambitious, multi-year program to provide enhanced habitat for Nickel and her fellow aquatic creatures. What the aquarium calls the Caribbean Reef is being reimagined, with a glass-walled and roofed tunnel allowing human visitors to walk through and beneath the exhibit. In the material Shedd produced to trumpet the new facility, top billing went to former Southwest Florida denizen Nickel. 

“The Caribbean Tunnel, the reimagined Caribbean Reef habitat, will feature guest favorites like the rescued green sea turtle, Nickel, alongside new arrivals like majestic spotted eagle rays in an expansive 40-foot tunnel,” said the Shedd release. Construction is expected to continue through summer of 2026. 

Nickel is a rescued sea turtle because she had been grievously wounded by a boat propeller in the 10,000 Islands. Marine biologist Matt Finn, Ph.D., came across her one day in 1998 when he was tagging, photographing and measuring fish for the National Marine Fisheries Service in the intricate web of channels and mangrove islets between Goodland and White Horse Key. As it happens, he was at Fish Hawk Creek, just between Turtle Key and Dismal Key, when he spotted a turtle in obvious distress. 

“It was at the edge of the mangroves, and it wasn’t acting quite right. It kept trying to dive, and it kept popping right back up to the surface,” said Finn, reached by telephone from his current base of operations on Big Pine Key in the Florida Keys. He could see the turtle had a deep gash in the shell and hind flippers that weren’t working. Though concerned about bringing a protected species aboard a boat that also engaged in commercial fishing, he took action that ended up saving Nickel’s life and impacting the lives of millions of aquarium visitors over decades. Along with fellow crew member Gary Weeks, he reached out and heaved her into the boat. 

“I’ve saved a lot of sea turtles, and they’re feisty,” said Finn. “But this one was calm when I grabbed her.” As a trained biologist, he knew who to contact to provide appropriate care and called in from the boat. When they arrived back in Goodland, a crew from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium was at the dock with a kiddie pool to transport their patient.

The green sea turtle, or Chelonia mydas, received expert care at the rescue center in Clearwater. Her shell recovered, with a few scars, but she never regained her natural buoyancy, making it impossible for her to be released back into the wild. She stayed at Clearwater for five years, a presumed male going by the name Pete until a former Shedd Aquarium volunteer suggested she might find the ideal lifetime home in Shedd’s Caribbean Reef.

It wasn’t until she arrived at Shedd Aquarium that keepers noticed that “he” was actually a “she.” Then a medical scan showed something metallic lodged in her esophagus, which when removed, turned out to be a 1975 five-cent piece, giving Nickel her new name. 

Nickel has thrived on a diet including massive amounts of lettuce – she prefers romaine and escarole – dives with ease to the bottom of her massive tank and has introduced millions of schoolchildren and aquarium visitors to her species and the importance of conservation. 

“Nickel has become a conservation ambassador. She helps raise awareness about the many threats to her species, including the increasing problem of plastic marine debris, which sea turtles can mistake for food and become entangled in,” said Shedd – not to mention the temptation of swallowing loose change left gleaming on the seafloor. She is even the heroine of at least two books by Jim Gamlin, “A Home for Nickel: A Sea Turtle’s Story,” and “Lucky Nickel: The Story of Nickel the Sea Turtle.” Estimated to be in her late twenties, Nickel is expected to continue to represent her species for decades, as green sea turtles have a life expectancy of 70 to 80 years.

Finn continued to work with species including sea turtles, fish, owls, ospreys, and migratory birds. His current work from his base in Big Pine Key centers on corals and sea grasses. He was reunited with Nickel when he made his first visit to Chicago in 2017. He reached out to the staff at Shedd and enjoyed a behind-the-scenes visit with the turtle he rescued back in 1998. Accompanied by collections manager Michelle Sattler, who had developed a special relationship with Nickel, he touched her flippers and gently ran his hands over her shell, still scarred from the boat accident that eventually brought her to Shedd. 

“It was exhilarating,” said Finn. “The things they’re doing with her, the amount of care they’re giving her, it’s remarkable.”