Subadult loggerhead sea turtle returns to Atlantic Ocean in Florida after rehabilitation

JUNO BEACH, Florida — A rehabilitated sea turtle was returned to the Atlantic Ocean from a Florida beach Wednesday morning.

Willow, a young loggerhead sea turtle, was released into the area behind the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, officials said.

“The best part of my job is getting out here on the beach and seeing these very valuable animals come back into the population,” said Dr. Heather Barron, chief scientist at Loggerhead Marinelife Center.

Willow was brought to the center on June 25 after Inwater Research Group found the injured sea turtle in nearby Jensen Beach. Veterinarians diagnosed Willow with debilitated turtle syndrome, a condition that sea ​​turtles malnourished, tired and covered in barnacles.

“So we gave her antibiotics, painkillers, iron, nutritional supplements, and her anemia has been resolved,” Barron said. “And now she’s feeling very combative.”

Loggerhead Marinelife Center was founded in 1983 as a sea turtle research, rehabilitation, education and conservation center. The center promotes the conservation of ocean ecosystems with a focus on endangered and critically endangered sea turtles.