It’s always a good morning when a sea turtle release happens. This Wednesday morning, we sent two of our patients, Bianca & Seattle, back into their ocean home.
Bianca, a sub adult loggerhead sea turtle, was found at the St. Lucie Power Plant Intake Canal back in December 2013. Like many of our sea turtle patients, she was lethargic, emaciated, and had numerous leeches and barnacles. Bloodwork showed that the turtle was severely anemic and mildly hypoglycemic. Bianca was kept in fresh water for the first few days to remove any external parasites, such as leeches and leech eggs.
Seattle’s story was a little different. The sub adult loggerhead sea turtle was entangled in a fisherman’s fishing line at the Lake Worth Pier in February 2014. Like Bianca, Seattle was covered in barnacles, algae, leeches, and leech eggs. The injuries to the left front flipper, right rear flipper, and carapace are old injuries that have since healed. Blood work showed that the turtle was anemic and mildly hypoglycemic. Seattle spent the first few days in fresh water to eliminate any of the saltwater parasites that were seen upon arrival.
Thankfully, both turtles made a full recovery and were cleared for release. We wish Seattle and Bianca the best of luck!
