Clearwater Marine Aquarium Releases Revived Loggerhead Turtle

By Hayley Rutger

Sarasota, FL - Lizzy, the stranded leatherback sea turtle brought to Mote Marine Laboratory on Tuesday, was successfully released today from a boat off the coast of St. Petersburg. Mote staff are advising coastal residents and beachgoers to alert wildlife specialists if the turtle comes ashore again.

The nearly 800-pound adult turtle was transported by staff and volunteers from Mote and Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) this morning to the U.S. Coast Guard station in St. Petersburg. From there, the turtle was transferred to the Fireboat Patriot, a vessel of Tampa Fire Rescue, which carried Lizzy out to sea.

Mote and FWC staff on board released the turtle at 2:10 p.m., 23.5 miles offshore of St. Petersburg in 66 feet of water.

"She slid off the back of the boat, went into the water and surfaced a couple of times for some good deep breaths. She did everything that she was supposed to," said Mote Veterinarian Dr. Andy Stamper. "And it looks like she oriented herself in the right direction - south."

Stamper recalled that other leatherbacks are far less lucky. "For my first patient out of vet school in 1993 - my first day of work, in fact - I was called about a stranded leatherback. That turtle had crab trap lines wrapped around both fore flippers and they were necrotic [dead]. I had to euthanize that turtle. Seeing this leatherback released - knowing she's an adult nesting female that will contribute to the population - it feels like I've come full circle."

Lizzy was originally brought to Mote late Tuesday afternoon by FWC staff after she stranded Tuesday on Big Hickory Island in Lee County. Mote veterinary staff cleaned a wound on her left rear flipper where it attaches to her body and provided antibiotics, but they found no severe injuries or signs of disease after carefully monitoring the turtle and taking blood samples. Because leatherback sea turtles generally don't do well in enclosed environments, it was in the turtle's best interest to release her as quickly as possible, Stamper said.

Lizzy's release at sea was possible thanks to the U.S. Coast Guard, which provided access to their St. Petersburg dock, and Tampa Fire Rescue, who transported the turtle on their new boat, the Fireboat Patriot.

"We would do this everyday if we could. This is a great training mission for us and a great opportunity to do something good at the same time," said firefighter Tom Meid, who helped pilot the Fireboat Patriot.

Eve Haverfield, who helped rescue Lizzy, also witnessed the turtle's return to the sea. "This was good for the soul and good for the heart," she said.
Scientists aren't sure why Lizzy came ashore or whether she'll do it again. "Its possible the turtle was trying to nest and became disoriented. If that's the case, she may try to come ashore again." Stamper said.

If you see Lizzy or another stranded or dead turtle, dolphin or whale in Sarasota or Manatee county waters, please stay at least 30 feet away from the animal and call Mote's Stranding Investigations Program, a 24-hour response service, at 941-988-0212.

If you see Lizzy or a stranded sea animal outside of Sarasota or Manatee counties, or if you see a stranded or dead manatee anywhere in state waters, please call the FWC Wildlife Alert hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922).

Lizzy's nesting history remains unknown. She bears an identification tag that was initially given as part of a group of tags to a researcher in 1999 in Columbia, according to Rhonda Bailey, biologist with FWC's Sea Turtle Program. But that doesn't mean the turtle was tagged then and there.

About this leatherback turtle:
The animal is an adult female nearly 5 feet long and weighs a whopping 787 pounds.

Species information:

* Leatherback turtles are the largest living reptiles in the world and are the largest and most endangered of all sea turtle species.
* Leatherbacks don't have shells like loggerheads and other sea turtles. Instead, their carapace is bony and covered with a firm, rubbery skin. Leatherbacks are commonly found in deep ocean waters and are the most migratory and wide ranging of all the sea turtle species. They nest on beaches around the world, with the largest nesting populations found on the coasts of northern South America and west Africa. There are minor nesting populations in the U.S. Caribbean (primarily Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and in southeast Florida. Leatherbacks are rarely seen along Southwest Florida's Gulf coast - although a leatherback nest did hatch on Sanibel Island (Lee County) in August 2009.
* Experts estimate most leatherback nesting populations have declined by at least 80 percent. The largest declines for leatherbacks have occured in the Pacific, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the IUCN (the International Union for the Conservation of Nature). Atlantic populations have shown increases. Caribbean nesting populations that seem to be growing still remain much smaller than Pacific populations were less than a decade ago. Nesting on U.S. beaches has shown an upward trend in recent years.

Additional background on this stranding:
This leatherback sea turtle first stranded in Collier County on Monday then stranded again in Lee County on Tuesday and was brought to Mote Marine Laboratory for rehabilitation late Tuesday afternoon.

This turtle was first spotted on the beach in Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park on Monday. State park staff and staff from the Collier County Parks and Recreation department and Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission eventually were able to coax the turtle back to the water and it swam away.

But on Tuesday morning, the turtle was found ashore again on Big Hickory Island. Turtle Time Inc., Lovers Key State Park rangers, members of Lee County's Department of Natural Resources and staff from Pelican Landing rescued the stranded turtle by boat and brought it to the Carl Johnson boat ramp at Lovers Key State Park. Rhonda Bailey, biologist with FWC's Sea Turtle Program and FWC law enforcement personnel also helped with the rescue. Bailey transported the turtle to Mote, where it arrived around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

During her stay, Mote's veterinary staff and volunteers provided ‘round-the-clock supportive care and monitoring. Leatherback sea turtles are difficult to accommodate in aquariums because they are pelagic - deep water - animals that aren't used to boundaries or walls, so rehab with this species is rarely attempted. Releasing Lizzy as soon as possible was of the utmost importance, Stamper said.

Blood samples taken since the turtles's arrival at Mote late Tuesday afternoon showed no clear signs of illness, Stamper said. While it would have been ideal for the turtle to remain at Mote for several more days for additional blood tests to be analyzed, current weather patterns and the difficulty of accommodating this particular species of turtle meant that releasing Lizzy today was in the turtle's best interest, Stamper said.

To view Mote Marine Aquarium's web page on Zoo and Aquarium Visitor, go to:  http://www.zandavisitor.com/forumtopicdetail-127-Mote_Marine_Laboratory_Aquarium