{"id":359779,"date":"2026-08-01T08:05:32","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T08:05:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/359779\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T08:05:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T08:05:32","slug":"coast-guard-rescues-nearly-300-pound-sea-turtle-in-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/359779\/","title":{"rendered":"Coast Guard rescues nearly 300-pound sea turtle in Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"

On July 19, a loggerhead sea turtle was seen swimming \u201cerratically\u201d seven miles south of Sugarloaf Key, Florida, her flippers flapping wildly<\/a> as she struggled to keep her head above water.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After boaters spotted her, they called the U.S. Coast Guard and stayed near her side until help could arrive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She was soon taken to The Turtle Hospital in Marathon, Florida, where she was dubbed \u201cTimmy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTimmy is a female loggerhead sea turtle, estimated to be 70\u201380 years old and weighing in at an incredible 270 pounds,\u201d The animal hospital shared in a Facebook post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s now undergoing a full diagnostic workup at The Turtle Hospital,\u201d the post continued. \u201cWe\u2019ll be running a complete blood chemistry evaluation once her samples are processed by the university lab, which will help us better understand what she\u2019s facing. Right now, we\u2019re still searching for answers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Timmy currently awaits diagnostic testing to see what hindered her on the open water of the Florida Keys, with the staff citing \u201cneurological concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTrauma is probably the most common thing, and you can get blunt force trauma where you wouldn’t necessarily see some external wounds, but most of the time, you\u2019ll see some kind of evidence [like] a boat strike,\u201d Dr. Terry Norton, the lead veterinarian for the Turtle Hospital, said in a video update<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Norton explained that when a sea turtle is exhibiting distress like Timmy, it could be signs of fracture or bacterial infections, like encephalitis or septicemia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe U.S. Coast Guard helped the recreational boaters that found her get her onto the boat,\u201d said Bette Zirkelbach, the manager at The Turtle Hospital. \u201cIt was no easy task. She wreaked havoc in the back of the Turtle Hospital ambulance on the way here to the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zirkelbach also added that getting X-rays for Timmy also took a great deal of \u201cteamwork.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TwoThe Turtle Hospital\/Facebook<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don’t know what\u2019s wrong with her,\u201d she said. \u201cI know it\u2019s frustrating to hear that, but it\u2019s frustrating for us as well, but we’re doing a lot of diagnostics to try to figure out why she was struggling at the [ocean\u2019s] surface.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fortunately, once she was able to rest in a shallow pool, Timmy\u2019s panic seemed to subside.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTimmy did great today!\u201d The Turtle Hospital posted on July 21<\/a>. \u201cShe happily ate everything we offered her \u2014 including squid, mackerel, shrimp, and lobster tail. This girl was HUNGRY!\u201d<\/p>\n

Like all of the sea turtles that come through The Turtle Hospital, the ultimate goal is to return Timmy to the ocean if she receives a clean bill of health from the veterinary staff.<\/p>\n

\"AThe Turtle Hospital\/Facebook<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a busy summer for the rescue and rehabilitation center. On July 17, they released a green sea turtle named Flynn, who had been covered tip-to-tail in tumors<\/a> when he was first rescued.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFlynn didn\u2019t hesitate \u2014 he was feeling feisty and more than ready to get back out there!\u201d the hospital shared on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatching him swim back into the ocean after overcoming cold stunning, severe anemia, fibropapillomatosis tumors, and two life-saving blood transfusions is a reminder of why this work matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Timmy isn\u2019t the first sea turtle to be rescued with an assist from the U.S. Coast Guard, either. A loggerhead named Hope was saved by a boatful of maritime officers<\/a> in early June after her front flipper was mangled by an anchor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although her flipper had to be amputated, Hope has responded well to treatment and has only been growing stronger in her rehabilitation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSending a little Hope your way this weekend,\u201d The Turtle Hospital wrote on July 18<\/a>, sharing a video of Hope cruising through the water. \u201cTake some time to slow down, enjoy the little things, and soak up the sunshine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u200d<\/p>\n

You may also like: Pancake, one of the world’s rarest sea turtles, is swimming free again after nearly freezing to death<\/a><\/p>\n

\u200d<\/p>\n

Featured Image: U.S. Coast Guard Southeast<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On July 19, a loggerhead sea turtle was seen swimming \u201cerratically\u201d seven miles south of Sugarloaf Key, Florida,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":359780,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-359779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359779\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/359780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}