How our Ambassadors got their names

Naming our Ambassadors is a fun exercise, one that we wanted to share with others who care about turtles. So when four of our Ambassadors went on-line last March 2001, we launched a name search among oneocean.org visitors. From the several suggestions we received, we selected eight names, from which we chose the final four. The "winning entries" were contributed by our friends from the Zamboanga State College of Marine Sciences and Technology in Zamboanga City, Philippines and Carnduff SK in Canada.

PTT 10449 got the name Tara. Says Haydee Ann Montoya of Zamboanga City, Philippines, who suggested the name, “I have always associated the name with a wanderer, a free spirit, one who is friendly, alluring and mysterious, an ambassador that will live in your mind and in your heart, wherever she may be.”

Kaitlin Sedor and her friends at Carnduff SK in Canada submitted the following names:

Trixie -- “a playful name that reminds us of how friendly and playful the turtles are” – is a good name for PTT 10033, who probably got too playful and friendly for her own good.

Phil -- “a name that sounds brave and courageous; turtles must be brave to face many predators in the ocean” – can be short for Philippines, and fits PTT 16226, one of the turtles tagged on the Philippines’ Baguan Island, who ‘braved’ the waters of the Sulu Sea and, among our Ocean Ambassadors so far, traveled the longest distance.

Finally, Tierra – “a graceful and flowing name that reminds us of when the turtles swim” – will have to be PTT 16132. Spanish for Earth, the name would be appropriate for any of our Ambassadors, who are all doing their bit to remind us of our duty to our Planet.            

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