November 9, 2007
The South Carolina Aquarium released two rehabilitated loggerhead sea
turtles back into the ocean off of Isle of Palms Saturday, November 3.
"Cape Romain," a 275-pound adult male loggerhead, and "Lady Lisa," a
65-pound juvenile loggerhead were released after being rehabilitated at the
South Carolina Aquarium.
"Cape Romain" was admitted to the Aquarium hospital in May 2007, suffering
from crab trap rope entanglement injuries that cut deeply into the shoulder
region of his left flipper. The flipper damage was extensive, including
swelling, lack of circulation and infection, which resulted in full
amputation. The turtle overcame the traumatic injury incredibly well and
was ready for release last Saturday. Hundreds of sea turtles have been
documented thriving in the ocean with missing limbs and biologists are
confident that "Cape Romain" will adapt well. He was outfitted with a
satellite transmitter, to track his migrations after release, a
collaborative effort between the South Carolina Aquarium and the S.C.
Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) Marine Turtle Conservation Program.
The South Carolina Aquarium and DNR are partnering on a satellite telemetry
project to track the migrations of both adult males admitted this season.
The transmitters enable researchers to monitor the turtles’ daily location
and diving behavior for potentially up to 2.5 years. The public can track
the locations of these turtles that have been outfitted with satellite
transmitters online.
"Lady Lisa" showed signs of Debilitated Turtle Syndrome when she was caught
during the DNR’s In-Water Turtle Research, and was admitted to the Aquarium
hospital in July 2007. Among the symptoms in this syndrome are anemia,
emaciation and external parasites. Since she was caught early in the
disease, "Lady Lisa" made a quick recovery. This juvenile turtle was also
outfitted with a satellite transmitter.
Find out more about DNR’s
In-Water Turtle Research.
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