Welcome Home, Poppy: Sea Turtle Inc. Adopts Non-Releasable Florida Sea Turtle
Poppy • Photo by The Turtle Hospital
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, TX – A new Loggerhead sea turtle has just arrived at South Padre Island’s Sea Turtle, Inc.
Poppy, a non-releasable Loggerhead, hails from The Turtle Hospital in Marathon, Florida, where she arrived in May 2020, according to the South Florida Reporter. Poppy was struck by a boat propeller in the Florida Keys, severing her back left flipper and damaging her shell. She can no longer dive for food, unable to control her buoyancy.
Poppy arrived at Sea Turtle, Inc. on Sunday, Sept. 26, via a private plane commissioned by Turtles Fly Too, a non profit that specializes in the relocation of endangered or threatened animals. The nearly five-hour flight to Texas was necessary, because, even after the treatment she received at The Turtle Hospital, she can’t be released.
