Sharon-Tilly, a sub adult Loggerhead, was released Thursday March 25th from Bahia Honda State Park! Sharon-Tilly was rescued by Doug and Sharon Largent, found floating near Bahia Honda and treated at The Turtle Hospital for an impaction. After 4 short months of laxitive therapy to help her pass the impaction, Sharon-Tilly was ready for release…..well not quite yet.
The Turtle Hospital has been rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing sea turtles for 24 years. In our history we have successfully released over 1,000 sea turtles. Each sea turtle is tagged for future identification with a flipper tag and microchipped with a PIT tag (pet identification tag). However, as a non-profit organization, The Turtle Hospital has never released a sea turtle with a satellite transmitter for tracking.
Satellite tags transmit a signal to polar orbiting satellites which allow us to detect the position of the tagged sea turtle. Approximately the size of a cell phone, the tags monitor parameters such as water temperature, how deep the turtle dives, how fast they swim and where they go. While we obtain extremely valuable information from these tags they do have limiting factors. The average life span of the tag is typically one year or less. Another factor is cost. The price of each tag can range between $3,000 and $6,000 depending on the kind of information collected in addition to the cost of satellite monitoring.
Thanks to a generous donation from Doug and Sharon Largent (Sharons rescuers), The Turtle Hospital was able to place our first ever satellite transmitter on one of our sea turtles courtesy of Mote Marine Laboratory. For the first time ever we will be able to see where one of our rehabilitated sea turtles travel. You can to! Thanks to seaturtle.org and Mote Marine Laboratory you can view the path that Sharon-Tilly takes and track her with us!
Where will Sharon-Tilly Go? Click here to find out: http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/index.shtml?tag_id=94929&full=1〈=
(Sharon-Tilly returning to the sea…the large red patch is painted on the epoxy which holds the transmitter to her shell)
The Turtle Hospital would like to extend an extra special THANK YOU to Doug and Sharon Largent, who not only rescued Sharon-Tilly, but through donations during her rehabilitation helped Sharon-Tilly recover. Without their generous donation for the satellite transmitter as well, we would never know where Sharon-Tilly will go.
Doug and Sharon took a guided educational tour at The Turtle Hospital and loved it. Doug and Sharon also love living in the keys and taking their boat out to go fishing. It was a windy day in the keys when they were out on their boat and noticed a little Loggerhead in distress. If it wasn’t for what they learned during their visit at The Turtle Hospital they may not have known that this turtle was calling out for help! Sharon-Tilly, as she was later named by her rescuers, was unable to dive. She was stuck floating at the surface of the water struggling to swim in the strong winds and currents. Doug immediately called The Turtle Hospital for help. Turtle Hospital administer Ryan Butts and FWC biologist Sue Schaf met a couple of good Samaritans, boarded a boat from a local marina, and found Doug and Sharon patiently waiting with the little Loggerhead.
Back at The Turtle Hospital, x-rays revealed that Sharon-Tilly is most likely suffering from an impaction. The trapped gas in her intestines is causing her to float helplessly. Loggerhead sea turtles are carnivores living off crab, lobster and conch for a meal. Sadly, overfishing of these crustaceans and mollusks for human consumption is leaving these Loggerheads hungry and searching for anything for a meal. Often times ingesting small hermit crabs, snails and urchins that their bodies are unable to digest. Treatment for Sharon-Tilly is Vegetable Oil added to her squid breakfast to help her pass the impaction. We expect Sharon-Tilly to make a full recovery!
UPDATE January 25th:
Sharon-Tilly continues to grow stronger everyday. Although she still floats from the impaction, she has begun slowly passing small pieces of crab and other undigested items. The Turtle Hospital would like to thank Doug and Sharon for not only rescuing this beautiful Loggerhead, but continuing to support her through her rehabilitation through donations. Thank you!
UPDATE February 19th 2010:
Sharon-Tilly is able to dive under water and is less buoyant at the surface. She is awaiting an x-ray to confirm that the impaction has passed. Once staff is certain that the impaction has passed, Sharon-Tilly will be released!