Elsa, a loggerhead sea turtle tagged by OCEARCH, has being swimming around the Treasure Coast lately.
The adult female, who measures 3 feet, recently pinged off Vero Beach on Sept. 18 at 1:57 p.m.
Elsa was tagged off Juno Beach on May 22, 2026, by OCEARCH, a global nonprofit that tags marine mammals with an online tracker for researchers’ studies.
She was fitted with a satellite transmitter for a study on sea turtle dive behavior and how it influences their susceptibility to boat strikes.
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A loggerhead sea turtle makes her way to the ocean after laying eggs during a night turtle walk with the Hobe Sound Nature Center on June 18, 2026, just north of the Hobe Sound Beach. The image was taken while using a red light with a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission permit. (CRYSTAL VANDER WEIT/TCPALM)
The northernmost point Elsa has been tracked to is off Barefoot Bay in Brevard County, at 8:02 p.m. Aug. 5, 2026, according to OCEARCH’s website. The southernmost point was off Boca Raton at 8:31 p.m. July 10, 2026.
Elsa has pinged off the coast of Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties, according to OCEARCH’s tracker.
Elsa has been in the area of Indian River County recently with some of her latest pings being Sept. 14: at 4:51 a.m. off Vero Beach and at 8:51 a.m. off Indian River Shores.
She has also been in the area of St. Lucie County with her last ping off Fort Pierce at 6:13 a.m. Aug. 21, 2026.
To see Elsa’s full tracking history visit ocearch.org/tracker/detail/elsa.
Olivia Franklin is TCPalm’s trending and breaking news reporter. You can contact her at olivia.franklin@tcpalm.com, 317-627-8048 or follow her on X @Livvvvv_5.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida coast visited by loggerhead sea turtle tagged by OCEARCH