MARATHON, Florida Keys — Some heroes wear capes. This one has flippers...and a really cool name.
A juvenile green sea turtle named Girl Power returned to the Atlantic Ocean Friday after overcoming injuries so severe she wasn't expected to survive.
Rescued in the Florida Keys around International Women's Day, Girl Power arrived at The Turtle Hospital tangled in fishing line and covered in life-threatening tumors.
Four months later, she proved resilience can be stronger than any obstacles in her way.
"Girl Power was a long shot," said Bette Zirkelbach, manager of The Turtle Hospital. "When a turtle ingests fishing line, it can become a mortality event. Also, she had tumors not only on her body but covering her eyes, so she overcame the odds. We got rid of the fishing line, she passed the fishing line that she ingested, tumor-free, had good, strong eyes, and back at sea."
With a satellite transmitter attached to her shell, Girl Power was released from Sombrero Beach in Marathon. As the Turtle Hospital's official competitor in the Tour de Turtles race, she will be tracked by Sea Turtle Conservancy, a global research and education program that tracks sea turtle migrations and allows the public to follow each turtle's remarkable journey.
Her road to recovery was anything but easy.
Veterinarians and staff performed multiple tumor-removal surgeries, carefully removed fishing line, treated infections with antibiotics, provided fluids, vitamins and chemotherapy following eye surgery, and helped nurse her back to health with a steady diet of fresh greens and seafood.
For Girl Power, Friday wasn't just a release...It was a comeback!
As she journeys out to sea. Girl Power's satellite tag will transmit her location whenever she surfaces, allowing scientists to study her migration while giving people around the world a front-row seat to cheer her on.
"The satellites that are attached to the sea turtles send a signal every time they come up to breathe, and that signal is then relayed to a station to give us basically a GPS location for the turtle," said Daniel Evans, a research biologist with Sea Turtle Conservancy.
For many watching on the beach, Girl Power's story became something even bigger than sea turtle conservation.
For roughly three months, she will compete against other rehabilitated sea turtles to see who swims the farthest in this year's Tour de Turtles.
For more than 40 years, the Turtle Hospital in Marathon has rescued, rehabilitated and returned thousands of injured sea turtles to the wild, giving threatened and endangered species a second chance at life.
And if you want to follow along in Girl Power's journey visit TourDeTurtles.org.
