Last of oil-soaked sea turtles released

The final 30 sea turtles being treated for complications related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill were recently released back into the wild. From the Associated Press:

"It took a little time but they actually all healed up very nicely," said aquarium veterinarian Cara Field. A federal contractor released the turtles Friday off of Venice, Audubon Nature Institute spokeswoman Sarah Burnette said Wednesday. Burnette said most were healthy enough for release last year, but the remaining 30 wintered at the institute. Earlier this spring, it was either too cold or seas were too choppy for the release, she said. The worst injured and sickest was the Kemp's ridley sea turtle with one line of puncture wounds in his shell and another in the flat plastron over his abdomen, indicating that he probably escaped being eaten by a shark, Field said. .... Field said some were anemic because of the exposure to oil. Others had low calcium, broken flippers and a couple had infected toe-bones.

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