Just in time for sea turtle mating season in the Florida Keys, a rehabilitated male loggerhead turtle has been released off Pigeon Key.
The turtle was named Sheldon by his US coast guard rescuers after he was found entangled in crab trap line earlier this month. The 230lb reptile was rehabilitated at the Keys-based Turtle Hospital.
Based on his size and the circumference of his head, Turtle Hospital general manager Bette Zirkelbach estimates Sheldon is at least 50 years old, well into his prime as a sexually reproductive male.
Loggerheads have received US federal protection ever since they were listed as threatened in 1978 under the Endangered Species Act.
Turtle hospital general manager Bette Zirkelbach said: “It’s mating season in the Florida Keys, it’s important to get this massive male turtle back out to sea so that he can begin mating and help preserve the species.”
Treatment at the turtle rescue facility included wound care, antibiotics and a diet of mixed seafood.
Before being released, Sheldon was fitted with a satellite transmitter tag by research scientists from the Summerland Key-based Mote Marine Laboratory.
Sheldon’s tagging illustrates the importance of being able to see how these turtles are doing once they are released back into the wild, since males don’t return to beaches where they emerged as hatchlings, a Mote official said.
The public can track Sheldon’s movements online.
