Loggerhead Sea Turtle Has Surgery in Ga.

JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga. – One of three turtles at the new Georgia Sea Turtle Center had surgery on Monday, only two days after the center opened.

Nick, one of three loggerhead sea turtles at the facility, has been at the center since he was rescued with injuries in May off Cumberland Island.

Dr. J. Melvin Deese Jr. of Brunswick performed the surgery at the Sea Turtle Center. Deese and his surgical team implanted bone screws and attached an external fixation device to stabilize Nick’s head injury.

The center reported Nick is recovering well.

The center is Georgia’s first facility devoted to sea turtle rehabilitation, research and education.

The other turtles at the center are Dylan, who was at Atlanta’s Georgia Aquarium before he was moved to the Jekyll Island facility in May, and Golden Boy, who was initially cared for at Orlando’s Sea World.

Dylan is being prepared to be tagged with a transmitter and released into the ocean.

Loggerhead sea turtles are classified as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act. An adult loggerhead can weigh up to 350 pounds.

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On the Net:

Georgia Sea Turtle Center: http://www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org