Coast Guard Rescue Helps Pregnant Loggerhead Turtle Return to the Ocean
A swift and compassionate rescue gave a loggerhead sea turtle named Roxanne a second chance in the waters of the Florida Keys.
On August 8, the Coast Guard team in Marathon, Florida, received an urgent report about a female turtle having difficulty swimming. When the crew reached her, they discovered that fishing line had become tightly wrapped around one of her front flippers.
Working carefully as a team, the Coast Guard members lifted the large turtle onto their boat and transported her to The Turtle Hospital.
Founded in 1986, The Turtle Hospital was the world’s first veterinary hospital devoted exclusively to rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing injured sea turtles. The organization has cared for more than 3,000 turtles since opening.
“We have our newest patient just pulled in in the turtle hospital ambulance,” general manager Bette Zirkelbach said in a recent TikTok video.
The Coast Guard crew named the turtle Roxanne. After bringing her to the hospital, several rescuers stayed to assist the medical team during her initial examination.
“The Coast Guard is an incredible partner for the Turtle Hospital,” Zirkelbach said. “It takes a village to get these turtles rescued. And Roxanne is a big girl.”
Roxanne weighed an impressive 221 pounds.
With commercial lobster season underway in the Florida Keys, Zirkelbach explained that the hospital had been seeing an increase in sea turtles becoming caught in fishing equipment.
“She is entangled in a trap line, and fortunately, it doesn’t look nearly as bad as Hope’s entanglement, so we are cautiously optimistic that that flipper can be saved,” she said.
Hope, another loggerhead rescued by the Coast Guard in early June, had become trapped in an anchor line. Her severely injured right flipper required a life-saving amputation, but two months later, the 150-pound turtle was thriving in rehabilitation and showing promise for an eventual return to the ocean.
Roxanne’s outlook was encouraging from the beginning. Although her flipper was swollen, the hospital team believed it might be saved.
“We won’t know until we work with her, but every effort will be made,” Zirkelbach said.
Several Coast Guard members continued helping as the veterinary team took X-rays. Because Roxanne was so large and powerful, keeping her safely positioned required cooperation from everyone in the room.
“You can see the challenge with these lateral X-rays with a big, strong turtle,” Zirkelbach explained.
The examination soon brought a delightful surprise: Roxanne was carrying eggs.
“Take a look,” a technician said. “100 eggs.”
“Really?” one Coast Guard member responded.
“There can be 200 in each nest, about 120 — although this year it seems like they’ve been a lot bigger,” the technician explained.
The good news continued the next day. On August 9, The Turtle Hospital announced that Roxanne was healthy enough to return home.
“Our medical team determined she was healthy enough to return to the ocean,” the hospital shared alongside a video. “She was tagged and released back into the wild, where hopefully she’ll continue on her journey toward nesting season.”
The Coast Guard members who had participated in Roxanne’s rescue returned for the joyful occasion, helping carry her from the transport van to the beach. From there, the expectant mother made her way back into the sea.
“Another entanglement rescue with a happy ending — and another reminder of how important it is to properly secure fishing gear and keep our ocean friends safe.”
