WORLD TURTLE DAY: Rehabbed loggerhead released at Fort Fisher

FORT FISHER, NC (WWAY) — It is World Turtle Day and what better way to celebrate than with a sea turtle release?

More than 250 people gathered Wednesday morning to see a 120-pound female loggerhead head back home from Fort Fisher.

“The opportunity to rescue one of these lives and to see it safely back into the ocean, it’s an indescribable joy,” spectator, Mitzi Simmons said.

The sea turtle was cold stunned back in December and has been treated by the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher’s Animal Care Team since January.

“It was lethargic. It was underweight. It was a little anemic,” Aquarium Curator, Julie Johnson said. “And so over the last few months we’ve been fattening it up, feeding it lots of food. It’s received some medication, some fluids, but mostly putting the weight back on.”

The aquarium’s Animal Care Team helped the big girl out of a truck around 10:00 a.m. and on to the beach. The turtle slowly made her way down to the water and even stopped a few times to check out the crowd.

This sea turtle did not get named during rehabilitation, but those who helped her get back on her fins are more than happy she is back where she belongs.

“Seeing as their populations are in decline, it’s a major thing to get these animals back into the water especially when you have females that could be of possible breeding age,” Aquarist, Stacey Murray said. “So by, again, just getting this one healthy and getting her back into her environment hopefully we can get these populations moving along in future generations.”

Loggerhead sea turtles are a threatened species in North Carolina and endangered in other states. Experts say there are a few things you can do to help the threatened species.

“Clean up after themselves if they’re on the beach,” Johnson said. “Not to leave debris or plastics and to fill in any holes that they make in the beach. You know, you don’t think about that but if you dig a big hole a turtle could get stuck in it whether it’s an adult turtle or a hatchling and not be able to get back out to the ocean.”

Many say today’s release was an experience they will never forget.

“You could almost feel it, just the turtle sensing the ocean and wanting to get back to its home,” Simmons said.

Johnson said the number of sea turtles they rehabilitate varies each year. They hope today’s release made a difference.