Mischief managed! Our loggerhead sea turtle patient is headed home to the ocean after a 16-month rehabilitation at our Sea Turtle Healing Center.  

Want to watch this 140-pound sea turtle make their way to the water? Join us at 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, at Howard E. Futch Memorial Park at Paradise Beach, 2301 N. Highway A1A in Melbourne. Sea turtle releases are rain or shine – but we may delay or cancel a release for safety concerns like lightning in the area.  

Mischief came to us in October 2023 after being found by boaters in Sebastian Inlet with their right front flipper entangled in a crab trap line. Unfortunately, the line had cut off circulation to the limb, causing it to die off.    

Our veterinary team undertook a 6-hour surgery to remove the flipper. Sea turtles have been documented in the ocean living healthy full lives with just three flippers, so we believe Mischief will be able to do the same.    

Sea turtles’ bodies can quickly heal from the severity of a missing limb, but sometimes complications arise from this quick healing. Mischief underwent several surgeries to clean debris and dead muscle from the wound.    

We want to remind commercial and recreational fishers that derelict fishing gear presents one of today’s greatest threats to aquatic life. Anglers should stow their equipment before and after use.   

Everyone can make a difference to the lives of sea turtles, even casual beach-goers or boaters! Bringing your trash home with you after a day enjoying the water or refusing single-use plastics (microplastics is another major threat to sea turtles) are two ways to help this critical species.