Threatened sea turtle recovers from injury, then swims 2,000 miles, NC aquarium says
A loggerhead sea turtle once on its journey to recovery has traveled more than 2,000 miles since he was released last month, a North Carolina aquarium posted on Facebook Wednesday.
North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island reports the animal, named Alexander, has a satellite tag on its shell that tracks its movements off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. He was released Dec. 27 from the care of the aquarium’s veterinarians.
Kite surfers found Alexander in May near Rodanthe, according to the aquarium’s Facebook page. One post said he was “lethargic and had a serious head wound.”
The “injury appears to have been caused by a boat strike that cracked open the top of his skull,” The Daily Advance reported in August.
According to The Daily Advance and other media outlets, Alexander was taken to the Sea Turtle Assistance and Rehabilitation Center, where he was named after inventor Alexander Graham Bell. The facility last year gave animals the names of famous scientists, according to The Daily Advance.
During recovery, the Alexander underwent a CT scan to help determine a path toward recovery, WTKR reported in August.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service reports loggerhead sea turtles are threatened in North Carolina. The species can be found “hundreds of miles out to sea” or closer to shore, the service said on its website.
This story was originally published January 31, 2019 at 4:42 PM with the headline "Threatened sea turtle recovers from injury, then swims 2,000 miles, NC aquarium says."
