Wayward Sea Turtle Receives Improbable Rescue

Native to the US, it wound up in the Netherlands before being safely returned
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 17, 2024 9:10 AM CST
Wayward Sea Turtle Receives Improbable Rescue
This photo provided by the Houston Zoo shows Boeier, an endangered Kemp's ridley turtle, being released at Stewart Beach in Galveston, Texas.   (Jackelin Reyna/Houston Zoo via AP)

An endangered sea turtle that was found about a year ago some 5,000 miles from its native waters has been released into the Gulf of Mexico, according to the Houston Zoo. The Kemp's ridley sea turtle, named Boeier after the boat that rescued it, was found off the coast of the Netherlands after becoming entangled in the net of the commercial fishing boat. The zoo said the turtle apparently was carried away by currents, and the US National Fish and Wildlife Service secured the turtle's return.

The turtle was taken to the Rotterdam Zoo where it was nursed back to health and eventually was flown to Houston, where it arrived Oct. 29, the zoo said. After medical tests and an acclimation process, a healthy Boeier was released into the Gulf of Mexico from Stewart Beach in Galveston on Nov. 4. The Kemp's ridley sea turtle is native to the coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean and is the smallest sea turtle—it grows up to 32 inches long and weighs up to 100 pounds, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

(More sea turtles stories.)

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