CMA releases rehabilitated turtle
By MARIANNE KLINGEL
Article published on Thursday, June 21, 2007  |
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| Photo by MARIANNE KLINGEL |
| Mackenzie, a female loggerhead turtle rehabilitated at Clearwater Marine Aquarium, heads back to the Gulf of Mexico at Clearwater Beach June 14. |
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CLEARWATER BEACH – Bystanders on Clearwater Beach didn’t have to wait long on June 14 to see Mackenzie, a rehabilitated loggerhead sea turtle, head back to the Gulf of Mexico.
Mackenzie was in the water and gone just seconds after Clearwater Marine Aquarium staff members placed her on the sand and pointed her toward her home. The crowd cheered her speedy departure, snapping photos and exclaiming how cool it was to see real nature right there on their own beach.
Mackenzie was rescued by CMA on Nov. 22, 2006, when she was found floating off of Caladesi Island State Park. The sub-adult female suffered from “lethargic Loggerhead syndrome” which may have been caused by red tide. Weak and extremely emaciated, she was unable to swim or even hold up her head above water.
After intensive care in a shallow turtle pool, CMA staff and volunteers nursed her back to health with antibiotics and a diet of fish and squid. After a seven-month rehabilitation period, the turtle was deemed healthy and ready for release back to the wild.
Sea turtle biologist Joe Widlansky, who named Mackenzie after his 3-year-old niece, said Mackenzie was a model patient and another success story for the aquarium.
“We tagged her and hope to follow her progress as she matures,” he said.
Released one mile from her stranding site, Mackenzie is expected to resume a normal turtle life, perhaps even returning to Clearwater Beach someday to lay eggs of her own.
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Article published on Thursday, June 21, 2007
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