Thursday, January 7, 2010

Lizzy Released Today

Lizzy the Leatherback was released back into the Gulf of Mexico this afternoon after being evaluated by scientists in Sarasota.

Blood tests conducted by Mote Marine Laboratory showed the turtle, nicknamed Lizzy, was not suffering from illness.

They would like to have kept the turtle for further testing, the weather patterns and the difficulty of accommodating the huge turtle forced them to act in the animal’s best interest and release it as soon as possible, Mote veterinarian stated that shortly after 2 p.m today, the 5' long, 787 pound turtle was released from a boat a little over 20 miles out from St Petersburg. She came up for long breaths of air a couple times and then seemed to go off in a southerly direction. Hopefully the turtle will head for warmer water.

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