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The Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, Fla., announced that it released a loggerhead sea turtle named Pyari, who lost a left fin, into the ocean
Experts said they believe she had an encounter with a predator, which left her left fin severed and made “severe lacerations” to her right fin
After three months in rehabilitation, Pyari was released with a satellite tag to facilitate research on the behavior of three-limbed sea turtles
A loggerhead sea turtle who spent 3 months in rehabilitation following an attack that left her without her left fin has returned to the ocean.
The Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, Fla., shared a video on Facebook of workers releasing the sea turtle — named Pyari, which translates to “lovely” or “beloved” in Hindi — back into the wild on Wednesday, Jan. 28, as a crowd nearby cheered.
Dr. Heather Barron with the Loggerhead Marinelife Center explained in the clip that Pyari was brought to them with a “variety of severe lacerations” to the front of her body. This suggested that she had an encounter with a predator, which the organization noted was most likely a shark.”
The turtle’s left fin had been severed about “halfway down her arm,” and her front right flipper “had severe lacerations that went very deep,” Dr. Barron recounted over a clip of experts appearing to clean Pyari’s wounds.
Pyari at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center
Loggerhead Marinelife Center/Facebook
Dr. Barron said that the creature had CAT scans, radiographs, and other examinations to ensure that “all of her joints were healthy” in her right limb and that she was not at risk of developing a deep infection there.
To acclimate her to ocean temperatures, she was placed in a tank with water at 80°F (27°C), Dr. Baron told ABC News. Once they determined that she was all clear, she was given the go-ahead to be released back into the ocean.
“Our research to date with releasing adult loggerheads that only have three limbs so far has been very promising, and suggests that in fact these animals do very well once they’re released in the wild,” Dr. Barron said in the video.
Pyari the sea turtle’s release
Loggerhead Marinelife Center/Facebook
The Loggerhead Marinelife Center said Pyari will be part of a “pioneering study” with the Smithsonian Institute of Conservation Biology on the behavior of three-limbed sea turtles, and she was fitted with a satellite tag. Dr. Barron told ABC News that one tag could cost up to $10,000.
The satellite tag tracks the creature’s location and collects environmental data on its habitat by transmitting signals to satellites whenever the animal surfaces from the water, according to NOAA Fisheries.
“It’s definitely always very gratifying to see these animals go back into their ocean home,” Dr. Barron told ABC News. “And I think it’s particularly gratifying when you can track them on satellite, and see exactly where they’re going and what they’re doing.”
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She also told the outlet that the Loggerhead Marinelife Center is tracking two other amputated turtles in addition to Pyari, and that the data collected was important to their research.
“Every little bit of information helps us to understand the behavior and the success of these animals,” she said.
Read the original article on People