MARATHON, Fla. — Bubble Butt, a beloved and resilient green sea turtle that survived after being struck by a boat in 1989, died April 23 at a turtle hospital in the Florida Keys. He was believed to be 35.
The turtle’s cause of death is likely connected to the spinal injury he suffered from the boat strike, Bette Zirkelbach, manager of the Turtle Hospital in Marathon, told the Miami Herald.
“He lived longer than anyone expected him to live,” Zirkelbach told the newspaper on Friday. “He was the most popular turtle we had.”
The turtle survived an injury after being struck by a boat near Long Key in the Florida Keys, the Turtle Hospital wrote in a Facebook post. Bubble Butt was given a permanent home at the facility and had lived in a 160,000-gallon tank since March 23, 1989.
The turtle got his name for his positive buoyancy disorder, referred to as “bubble butt” syndrome, the hospital wrote on Facebook. He was fitted with weights on his shell to compensate for the disorder, hospital officials said.
“Bubble Butt’s story of the human impact on a threatened species is compelling and helped to shine a light on the plight of sea turtles,” the Turtle Hospital wrote.
Days before his death, Bubble Butt underwent 12 hours of surgery at the hospital, the Herald reported.
“You get very attached,” Zirkelbach told the newspaper. “After a while, you think you can keep them all alive. Nothing lives forever.”