Loco Boomerang the Loggerhead... YYN 568

Loco the loggerhead has earned a new name -- Boomerang -- since he keeps swimming back to the beach.



The little TED turtle has been taken even farther offshore, ten miles south of Pensacola Pass. Hopefully, he'll learn to feed and grow on his own there. If not, we'll likely take him for continued training at the Galveston NMFS lab.



Amanda and her colleagues at the Gulfarium worked hard to keep their distance from the turtle and help him adjust to life without humans. They fed him live food, while trying to stay out of sight.



We each took a turn saying goodbye, again. Sally looked happy to see him go!



Even the Coast Guard crew, lead by Petty Officer Donovan, each took a turn with Loco Boomerang. He seemed to behave much better for them -- I wonder why?



If Loco/Boomerang is a female, we do hope to see her in 20 years as a nesting adult... Otherwise, I hope the turtle grows large and strong out there on the deep sea currents.

Coast Guard and the Kemp's Ridley

Jennifer and I got called in to work last night about 5:30 -- the coast guard in Pensacola had an injured Kemp's Ridley sea turtle at their station. Given the holiday, no marine aquarium staff were around and the stranding team didn't want to respond, so Jennifer and I ran over to pick up the turtle and nurse it through the night.



After we finished bandaging her front flippers to try to slow the bleeding, we brought her back to the park. She spent the night in our shower, nestled in a harsh Coast Guard wool blanket. She must have been sick for awhile, given the amount of barnacles covering her carapace.



After a long night at the office, we drove her to Destin, Florida this morning. The staff at the Gulfarium were expecting her, but had no idea her injuries were so severe. I'm sure she'll do well under their care...

While we were there, we checked on the green turtle, Clover, we took to the Gulfarium in June. She has two dislocated hips and a broken pelvis, but they don't know if surgery will work at this point. It would be great to release her as we need more nesting greens on the beach, but she may never be able to dive and feed herself without the use of her rear flippers. She was so much chubbier than when we dropped her off, and her shell sparkled in the early morning light. It's great to see she's doing so well!