CMA Released Loggerhead Sea Turtle Named Betsy
Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) staff released a loggerhead sea turtle back into the wild. For the past three months, Betsy has been nursed back to health at CMA and is once again living in the wild. Progress Energy, a CMA partner, has supplied funding to assist in the rehabilitation of these turtles. Betsy was found at Ponce de Leon Park in Punta Gorda. The adult female was found in May 2009 lethargic, covered in brown algae and unresponsive to nearby boaters. Since 2002, Clearwater Marine Aquarium has released 147 sea turtles. Last year alone, CMA rescued 79 sea turtles, rehabilitated 27 and released 18 of them. CMA is currently home to 13 turtles, including four different species (Kemp's Ridley, Loggerhead, Green and Hawksbill). The Kemp's Ridley is the most endangered of all sea turtles. CMA oversees sea turtle nesting on Pinellas County beaches, locating and protecting Loggerhead nests, and ensuring the hatchlings make their way into the ocean. So far this year, 137 nests have been located. Sea turtle nesting season runs each year May through October.
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