Dilly Dally going out to sea – screengrab from Loggerhead Marine Life Center, released

From Florida comes the story of one lucky turtle who was attacked by a predator and lived to tell the tale.

Dilly Dally was taken in by the Loggerhead Marinelife Center’s turtle veterinarians after she was rescued in Port St. Lucie with severe wounds on her front right flipper.

Though not a fully grown adult, it was probably a shark that wounded her, as they are a sea turtle’s only potential predator once they reach maturity.

Brought to shore by the Inwater Research Group in January, the center at Juno Beach applied antibiotics and treated her wounds, but it wasn’t enough to save her flipper which was successfully and safely amputated.

At Juno, Dilly Dally gradually mastered the art of swimming with one flipper during a five-month rehab program. The front pair are used by the animals for speed, while their smaller rear flippers are for turning.

Then, last Wednesday, it was time to let Dilly Dally go back to her home. A video recorded by the Loggerhead Marinelife Center showed four women carrying Dilly Dally in a plastic tub to the beach at high tide. After 2 minutes of scooting, she vanishes under the waves, with the last sight being the antenna of a satellite tracker which was strapped to her shell.

In this way Dilly Dally will become a pioneer: the first three-flippered turtle to be tracked by the center.

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“So now Dilly Dally has an active live satellite tag on her and we can get real-time data on where she goes, which is really exciting because we don’t really know what happens to our three flipper turtles once you release them,” Marika Weber, a vet tech at the Juno center who was part of Dilly Dally’s care team, told CBS.

“Now we know if their migration or foraging patterns change and it’ll be really helpful to see what happens to these patients.”

Turtles can live long productive lives having lost limbs—hence why she was deemed suitable for release.

WATCH the video release below… 

SHARE This Beautiful Scaled Life Saved, Healed, And Headed For Better Days…

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