A dozen turtles returned to the sea Tuesday evening, including loggerheads, greens and Kemp’s ridleys.
Armed with a bullhorn, aquarium Rescue and Rehabilitation Program Director Adam Kennedy introduced the turtles as they made their way into the water. The first down the beach was a loggerhead that aquarium staff dubbed Pretty Pretty Princess.
"Today we have 12 sea turtles heading home, which is amazing," he told the crowd. "These turtles ... I think they all stranded in December."
Kristen Luise is a Senior Animal Care Specialist at the New England Aquarium. She got to release a loggerhead she cared for and named Kermit. She said she developed a special bond with Kermit through countless hours of wound care.
"She came in with bad pneumonia," Luise said. "But also, her skin, from the impact of cold stunning, she had really severe frostbite."
Turtles were released with satellite and acoustic tags so the scientists who cared for them can keep track of where they’re going and what they do. Luise said it's amazing Kermit's shell had recovered enough to carry a satellite tag.
The public can also follow the turtles' whereabouts through the aquarium's online Sea Turtle Tracker.
Last fall, 473 cold-stunned sea turtles were rescued from the beaches of Cape Cod Bay and brought to the aquarium. From there, some were transported to other rescue organizations, while the sickest turtles spent the past six months in Quincy, at the New England Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital.
Thirty-nine turtles remain in the aquarium’s care and are expected to be released later this summer.
