Two green sea turtles were released at Cedar Key on May 4, 2023.
Olympic
On Thursday, May 4, Clearwater Marine Aquarium released a green sea turtle, Olympic, back into the wild at Cedar Key after almost two months of rehabilitation.
Olympic is a subadult, green sea turtle weighing nearly 100lbs.
Olympic was found by our partners, University of Florida Marine Animal Rescue team, entangled in commercial clam gear offshore and struggling to surface in Levy county. Upon further evaluation, Olympic’s right front flipper had significant trauma caused by the gear, and it was determined that a complete flipper amputation would be needed.
After a course of medications and a healthy diet, Olympic’s surgical site healed nicely and it has been cleared for release by both our veterinarian and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
Sea Turtles can be released with missing flippers, as long as the patient can show they can evade predators, dive and forage successfully on their own.
Voyageurs
On Thursday, May 4, Clearwater Marine Aquarium released a green sea turtle, Voyageurs, back into the wild at Cedar Key after almost two months of rehabilitation.
Voyageurs is a juvenile green sea turtle that was found floating in Crystal River having issues staying submerged or diving to the bottom.
Diagnostics indicated that Voyageurs had increased gastrointestinal gas which likely caused their buoyancy. After a period on medications and a healthy diet, Voyageurs’s buoyancy soon resolved, and they began resting on the bottom consistently!
Voyageurs has been cleared for release by both our veterinarian and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and is ready to return home.
All marine turtle footage taken in Florida was obtained with the approval of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) under conditions not harmful to marine turtles. Footage was acquired while conducting authorized conservation activities pursuant to FWC MTP-21/22-172A.