Wonders of Wildlife Releases Turtles Back into Florida Waters

SPRINGFIELD, MI一 On April 6 Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium released 12 endangered loggerhead sea turtles back to their native habitat in the Atlantic Ocean.

The turtles ended up at the Midwest aquarium after washing ashore in Cape Cod after facing extremely cold weather conditions and cold waters.

This year was the largest cold-stunning event on record and the sheer number of turtles on the coast left sea turtle rehabilitation centers on the east coast at full capacity, sending 12 turtles to the Midwest for care, according to an April 7 press release from Wonders of Wildlife.

The turtles were fighting pneumonia and hypothermia when they showed up in December and took over three months to recover before being released, according to the press release

The turtles were released off of Panama Beach, Florida. They have been tagged as a part of conservation and research efforts and will continue to be monitored by the nearby Gulf World Marine Institute.