Rehabilitated loggerhead sea turtle, Adobo, swims off today in waters off Cape Cod with tracking tags to monitor progress

BOSTON, MASS. (July 27, 2022) – Adobo, a 44-pound endangered loggerhead sea turtle, swam into ocean waters off Cape Cod this morning after being rehabilitated for several months at the New England Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy, MA.

Photos HERE and video of the sea turtle’s release today. Please credit New England Aquarium

Adobo was equipped with an external satellite tag and an internal acoustic tag, both devices designed to allow Aquarium staff to track and monitor the turtle’s movements. Endangered loggerhead turtles can live up to 80 years old, grow to up to 49 inches long, and can weigh up to 375 pounds. They migrate to coastal waters around the world, notably in the U.S., Bahamas, Cuba, and Mexico.

For more than 30 years, the Aquarium has helped rescue, rehabilitate, release, and research endangered and threatened sea turtles. This past turtle stranding season, the Aquarium admitted more than 500 turtles for medical care, working closely with Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, National Marine Life Center, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Fisheries Service, and Turtles Fly Too to save the animals and transfer many to partner organizations to continue rehabilitation.

Aquarium staff treat turtles for a variety of life-threatening medical conditions, including hypothermia, pneumonia, and bone fractures. Depending on the severity of their illness, hospitalized turtles can require weeks or months of treatment. After physical examinations, staff veterinarians cleared Adobo to return to the ocean today. As part of its work safeguarding ocean animals and habitats, the Aquarium tracks and studies the movement of several turtles using acoustic and satellite tags. There are three more turtles remaining at the Quincy facility, which will be released this summer once medically cleared by Aquarium veterinarians.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Pam Bechtold Snyder – psnyder@neaq.org, 617-686-5068