"Jonah"

Susan and I went to the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach (next town up the coast). We had heard about the Loggerhead named, "Jonah". http://video.aol.com/video-detail/jonah-the-loggerhead-sea-turtle-at-the-marinelife-center-2/1625679817 . It seems that a couple was fishing off of the Juno Fishing Pier and caught a fairly large Blue Fish - threw the fish in a live well and the fish coughed up a small hatchling loggerhead turtle. They took the hatchling to the near by Loggerhead Marinelife Center - the little hatchling became the ambassador for the Marinelife center. For the past two years, Jonah has been seen by thousands of tourist and school children.


Jonah has now grown to 44 cm in length and will soon be released into the ocean. He is ready - watch the video cited above and you can see him swimming anxiously about his tank. Jonah is healthy, big enough to ward-off predators, and is able to dive for his own food. He is ready to be released back into the ocean. This will be a bittersweet experience for those who have cared for the hatchling for the last two years, and for those who have visited the little guy and snapped thousands of photos to see him let go. It is what is good and natural for the turtle. The release will take place in a few weeks on a beach near Melborne, Florida.