BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A 370-pound loggerhead sea turtle named Perseverance made her return to the ocean on Tuesday after a three-month stay at the Brevard Zoo’s Sea Turtle Healing Center.
Perseverance, named after NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, earned the title of the zoo’s largest ever sea turtle patient.
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After zoo officials said she was seen struggling in late July, an exam showed abnormalities such as an old, healed injury on the shell; swelling and weakness.
After being induced into labor, veterinarians said she laid more than 100 eggs, which were buried in southern Brevard County.
READ: It’s sea turtle nesting season: Here are 9 ways you can help hatchlings survive
Three months of care and rehabilitation later, Perseverance returned to the sea from Cocoa Beach Friday morning.
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