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.

Look Who's Back

I received a call from Law Enforcement Ranger, Melissa, about a turtle on the beach. Melissa was trying to keep the turtle safe until I got there to take a look at it.



You'll never guess who it was...



Loco looked a little apologetic as I examined s/him to be sure that no ocean meanies had been nibbling on the small loggerhead.



I handed him to the concerned beach visitor who had called the park while I got some of my 'turtle stuff' together. Loco seemed to wave away the paparazzi.



Several beach combers, kayakers, surfers and fishermen have reported seeing the little loggerhead.



I'm happy to report the turtle looks healthy and happy! We're hopeful the turtle will continue to learn, grow and thrive.




Thanks for keeping an eye out for s/him -- I know this turtle has touched everyone who has met s/him, and that's the best sea turtle advocate we could ever have. We should start to see lots of the wee ones within the week!

Sea Turtle Swims to Freedom

The day started out very well today... Monica and I drove to the Gulfarium in Destin to pick up YYN 568, aka "Loco." It was time to release s/him to the wild after about three weeks of care and training.



Amanda and the folks in Destin taught our little TED research escapee how to feed well enough to survive in the wild. Captain Dave and Jeremy Brown took us to sea aboard the Y Knot. These two gentlemen from Blue Water Adventures rescued an entangled Kemp's ridley a few weeks ago.



You can see they have an affinity for this little loggerhead, even though Loco is trying to swim through the air.



S/he acted the same way with Monica. Clearly, this turtle was ready to return to the Gulf of Mexico. Hope we'll see him or her represented in the nesting population in about 20 more years!



Amanda took many of the photos with my camera today while I returned Loco the the sea.



It was so hard to see Loco leave, but s/he was quite at home, dashing instantly for the sea floor. I should have some good pictures from Jeremy (who's in the water) in a day or so... Thanks, Mark, for letting us take the day to return this animal to it's natural home!

Good Turtle News!

This little guy, "Loco" (aka YYN 568), is ready to be set free! The folks at the Gulfarium say that he's an escapee from the TED research program in Galveston. He was close to shore looking for handouts because he left before he'd completed his pre-release training program and didn't know how to forage effectively.



I know this little loggerhead (Caretta caretta) had a great will to live when I met him two weeks ago. If all goes well, Mark, Monica, Michelle, Sally and I will be able to release him offshore of where Mark and I retrieved him. It should be fun!