Exciting news from the Rescue Team! One of our satellite-tagged turtles released a year ago is still transmitting! How many of you remember turtle #156, also known as Nate the Great?



Nate the Great stranded in early December 2012. He was dangerously cold, at only 49 degrees Fahrenheit, and extremely underweight. This turtle had kidney function abnormalities for many months. He also took a very long time to swim on his own.



During his nine months in rehabilitation, this turtle became a staff and volunteer favorite. He enjoyed interacting with the volunteers by making his presence known especially when cleaning his tank. Often times he would brush himself up against the vacuum hose or scrub brush, using those items to clean his shell. Green turtles in the wild are often observed doing this on rocks and corals.


By the time of his release in August of 2013, Nate the Great was a typical fat Green sea turtle. He was satellite-tagged and released out of Cape Cod.



Since his release, Nate has travelled south hugging the coast and it appears has stayed in south Florida peninsula since November 2013. He has travelled nearly 3,000 miles and is still transmitting today, 371 days later. Continue following him on SeaTurtle.org!




This post was written by our guest bloggers, Jill and Michelle, who are Rescue volunteers and have cared for Nate the Great!