An endangered sea turtle was returned to the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday, months after he was found stranded on a beach and suffering from hypothermia last winter.
Named Elton, the juvenile Kemp’s ridley sea turtle was discovered cold-stunned, or hypothermic, on the shores of Barnstable, Massachusetts, in December.
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said sea turtles such as Elton can become cold-stunned when they do not migrate south in time to escape the onset of cold temperatures.
Following months of rehabilitation with the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, Elton was released into the Atlantic by way of a beach by the New York Aquarium in Brooklyn.
The animal, which officials estimate to be between 2 and 5 years old, was set onto the sand and quickly swam back into the water.
“Elton’s return to the ocean is a powerful reminder of what we can achieve when science, compassionate care, and public support come together,” said Leigh Ann Clayton, Director of the New York Aquarium. “This turtle’s journey—from cold-stunned and vulnerable to swimming in the ocean again—embodies the mission we carry every day at the New York Aquarium and across WCS.”
Footage of his release shows a crowd of people on the beach cheering on the young turtle.
“Elton! Elton! Elton!” they chanted as the turtle swam away.
Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are the smallest sea turtle species in the world, weighing between 70 and 100 pounds, according to NOAA.
They were named after Richard M. Kemp, a fisherman from Florida, who first submitted the species for identification in 1906.
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