Nearly 1,500 sea turtle hatchlings displaced by hurricanes to be released

Nearly 1,500 sea turtle hatchlings displaced by Hurricane Irma and Jose were set for release back into the ocean Friday.

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The newly hatched green and loggerhead turtles -- along with numerous young turtles washed back onto the beach after swimming off shore called “washbacks” -- have been turned over to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, according to a Brevard Zoo release.

The zoo said staff and volunteers from the Melbourne area began dropping off the turtles at Brevard Zoo on Monday, before the animals were taken to Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton. The FWC was to put the turtles on seaweed mats off shore Friday.

Cox Media Group