Sea Life Arizona welcomed Ziva, a green sea turtle, 13 years ago in February 2012 from the Georgia Sea Turtle Center — marking the first sea turtle to call Arizona home. 

Aquarists at the Tempe-based aquarium celebrated the milestone with a custom "cake" for Ziva, made up of bell peppers, lettuce and her favorite fish, which she promptly chowed down on, according to a press release. 

Ziva was the victim of a boat strike off the Florida coast, and because of her injuries, had a hard time swimming properly in the wild. After a year of rehabilitation in Georgia, she was ready to make the move to Arizona and Sea Life, flying over 1,700 miles to arrive here in the Valley, the release detailed.

Weighing in at only about 35 pounds on arrival, Ziva spent about a month getting acclimated to her new surroundings, before being released into the 160,000-gallon ocean view exhibit at Sea Life where she still resides today.

Since then Ziva has grown to 185 pounds and is now over five feet long, impressing children and adults of all ages during her 13 years at the aquarium. 

To further celebrate all things sea turtles, guests can become a turtle rescue expert in a limited-time event at Sea Life Arizona that runs through April 13. 

Aquarium guests can join the Turtle Rescue Team and complete hands-on turtle rescue activities. They will discover how rescuing sea turtles works, including how to find them, feed them, track them and set them up for success on their return to the ocean, the release stated. 

Guests can also come face to flipper with rescued sea turtles Ziva and Donna in the ocean view and turtle rescue reef exhibits respectively.