A lost flipper couldn’t deter a 220-pound green sea turtle’s return to her ocean home, as Marathon’s Turtle Hospital celebrated a successful offshore release of ‘JP Saul’ with the help of the U.S. Coast Guard. In February, two fishermen spotted the female turtle entangled in a stone crab trap off the Seven Mile Bridge, sparking a rescue by a combined Turtle Hospital and USCG crew. Despite exhaustive efforts – including laser treatments, broad spectrum antibiotics and even leech therapy – to save the turtle’s injured flipper from her entanglement wounds, the flipper was eventually amputated on JP’s road to recovery. Within a month, she was strong, swimming well and ready for her return. ‘It takes a village to save sea turtles, and the Turtle Hospital is most grateful for the incredible help from USCG Station Marathon, Florida Fish and Wildlife and the local community,’ the hospital said in a press release. TURTLE HOSPITAL/Contributed
