After Seven Months of world-class care, Howard the sea turtle will be released from The Sea Turtle Hospital at Loggerhead Marinelife Center

Who: Loggerhead Marinelife Center

When: Thursday, October 17th at 10:30 a.m.

Where: Loggerhead Marinelife Center (14200 US HWY 1 Juno Beach, FL 33408)

What: On Thursday, October 17th at 10:30 a.m. The Sea Turtle Hospital at Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) will release Howard the sea turtle from the beach located directly adjacent to the facility.

Howard’s Journey from Rescue to Release

On March 13th, 2019 at 10:30 a.m., Howard, an adult male loggerhead, arrived to The Sea Turtle Hospital at Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC). Since the beginning of 2018, The Sea Turtle Hospital has treated 7 adult male sea turtles, which can be identified by a longer tail. Originally, Howard was found near Ft. Pierce with an unintentional boat strike injury to one rear flippers, tail, and marginal carapace. Upon arrival, the turtle had lost considerable blood and was extremely anemic.

To begin the turtle’s rehabilitation process, LMC’s rehabilitation staff cleaned the turtle’s wounds, ligated bleeding vessels, and applied a pressure bandage on the lower left rear flipper to reduce additional bleeding. The turtle continued to receive routine care, including antibiotics and fluids. Over the course of the first few weeks in rehabilitation, the turtle’s flipper began to heal and the turtle responded well to other treatment. Now after seven months in rehabilitation, the turtle is finally healed and healthy enough to return home to the ocean.

LMC invites guests to watch Howard return home into the ocean this Thursday. Guests will have the opportunity to view pre-release procedures beginning at 10 a.m. in the Outdoor Sea Turtle Hospital on LMC’s campus. The Center encourages supporters who cannot attend the release in-person to join the release live through Facebook LIVE! Post-release, supporters will be able to track the turtle online at www.marinelife.org/track and symbolically adopt the turtle to help continue to generate funds to support the rehabilitation of sea turtle patients at the Center.

Sea Turtle Release Safety Tips

*LMC advises guests to protect against the South Florida sun and prepare adequately.

• Wear a hat.

• Wear cool clothing.

• Wear sunscreen.

• Bring a reusable water bottle.

• Bring sunglasses.

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About Loggerhead Marinelife Center:

Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) is a nonprofit sea turtle research, rehabilitation and educational institution that promotes conservation of ocean ecosystems with a focus on threatened and endangered sea turtles. The Center features an on-site hospital, research laboratory, educational exhibits and aquariums, and also operates the Juno Beach Pier, which hosts world-class angling and sightseeing. Situated on one of the world’s most important sea turtle nesting beaches, Loggerhead Marinelife Center is open daily and hosts over 350,000 guests free-of-charge each year. The Center’s conservation team works with 90 local and international organizations across six continents to form partnerships and share conservation initiatives and best practices that are core to its mission of ocean conservation. The Center is expanding and has launched its Waves of Progress capital expansion campaign, designed to accelerate and amplify LMC’s conservation and education impact. When complete, the facility will offer one of the world’s most advanced and unique experiences for guests and scientific partners. For more information, visit marinelife.org or call (561) 627-8280.