It’s true! Big Guy and Speedo, long-time residents at the Dr. Donald Ott Turtle Pond, were released on the morning of March 7th, 2012. First, the two adult male green sea-turtles were taken out of the pond and placed into two large crates, custom made by the Carpentry Shop.
Heavy Equipment personnel used a crane to lift the two boxes onto the back of a truck and drove them down to the Marine Department where The Patriot and its Captain, Tracy Hampson, were waiting. After the precious cargo was loaded onto the deck, the passengers went to work on cleaning and marking the turtles’ shells with their initials, Big Guy with a “B” and Speedo with an “S.”
Once they arrived to their destination, the Captain and crew lowered Speedo’s crate into the water and the hatch was opened. It took a while, but once he found the exit, Speedo stayed true to his name and was out of the crate and out of view in quite a hurry.
Then it was Big Guy’s turn. The hatch opened and Big Guy swam out of the crate and really took his time navigating his new home. He spent some time surfacing but eventually plunged low and then out of sight. Thank you to all of the departments and individuals that made the release smooth, efficient, and successful!
They've requested that we report any sighting of the turtles to the Enviromnmental department. I'll let you know if we hear of any sightings.
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