At 7:00 this morning, Brian and I picked up Harpoon from the NMLC. This was the beginning of her journey to freedom. Harpoon’s flight, from Boston to Florida, was scheduled for 2:00 in the afternoon. Before going to the airport, we drove Harpoon to the New England Aquarium in Boston, MA. It took us over an hour to get there from the center. All the turtles that the NMLC rehabilitates are originally sent from the New England Aquarium. After a sea turtle is found on the beach, it is brought to the aquarium for intensive care. After they are stabilized, some of the turtles are sent to the NMLC for their rehabilitation.

At the aquarium, Harpoon was examined, weighed and measured. We then drove her to the airport in the animal ambulance. The animal ambulance looks a lot like a regular ambulance, with lights and a siren. These people do not mess around when it comes to animal rescue! When we arrived at the airport, we brought Harpoon into the cargo area. She was scheduled to fly to Florida by herself, as cargo. This sounded strange to me at first. However, the New England Aquarium has been successfully sending turtles to Florida this way for ten years. Before tying her crate, we lubricated her carapace. This was to keep her shell from drying out during her three hour flight. The plane departed at 2:00, as scheduled. I was happy that she was another step closer to freedom.

Harpoon’s release has been a long time coming. She was in rehab for almost a year. In addition to all the problems associated with being cold-stunned, she also had buoyancy issues. Basically, she floated. Being too buoyant could make her a prime target for predators and prevent her from feeding. Due to these issues, she missed the opportunity to be released locally, when the waters were warm.

Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles, like Harpoon, are the most highly endangered species of sea turtle in the world. Every individual is crucial to the survival of the species. Harpoon is a female. She will probably go on to lay many eggs in her future. I feel that her release was a step in the right direction toward the propagation of the species. I felt honored to be a part of it.