JUNO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A giant loggerhead sea turtle crashed into a boat off the Atlantic Coast in Florida, arrives at a turtle hospital in need of medical care, but at 302 pounds (137 kilograms), the Pennywise was too big to fit the equipment.
There, the veterinarian team at Loggerhead Marine Life Center in Juno Beach took her to a nearby Jupiter Medical Center, hoping she would receive a CT scan with a human machine. She was too big for that too.
They soon came up with another plan: they took Pennywise to the Palm Beach Horse Clinic in Wellington, where scans were performed with equipment designed for horses.
“And we’re lucky enough that the horse-sized car was big enough to fit this woman,” Heather Barron, chief science officer and veterinarian at Loggerhead, told The Associated Press.
After all, they also got a great surprise. Images showed Pennywise carrying the eggs.
“We hope we can bring her back into the wild as soon as possible so that she can lay those eggs,” Baron said.
The endangered species Loggerheads often lay multiple clutches during the season, she said.
Pennywise arrived at the center on Monday and found the crew of the Inwater Research Group floating in the Atlantic Ocean.
Staff at Juno Beach Curtle Center estimated Pennywise’s injuries were about a month. Baron said the imaging showed some degree of damage to the bone surrounding the spinal cord. They have turtles on powerful antibiotics.
“Fortunately, her neurological examination shows that all these nerves are intact. That’s a great sign for her. We’re very excited about it. We’ll make sure that the disease is not progressing, so we can return to the wild once the wound feels well healed.”
Still, Baron said Pennywise’s story is “a textbook case of turtles returning to the area due to mating and nesting seasons, only to be victims of injuries suffering from a completely preventable boat.”
As Florida’s nesting season runs from March 1st to October 31st, Sea Guy Center officials are encouraged that seafarers take particular attention to what is called the Sea Turk Conservation Zone, which slows down and extends a mile from the coast.
___
Furisaro reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
