You may recall that last May, Lucy and Ray Hoover and Lauren Gilmer reported a live loggerhead turtle stuck under a tree on the beach. Bill Greubel, Terry Fansler and Sandy MacCoss responded to the report and were able to get the turtle into the Turtle Patrol Truck. The turtle was then transferred to the DNR truck and transported to the Turtle Hospital at the South Carolina Aquarium.
That afternoon we received a report from the Turtle Hospital that the male loggerhead had been named “Bruce.” They thought they would have to amputate Bruce’s right front flipper due to shark wounds. He also was covered in barnacles, and lab tests showed deficiencies that needed to be corrected.
Here’s an update. Bruce is doing way better than expected! His flipper healed up without amputation and his health has improved tremendously. At this point, it looks like he’ll be released this spring!
Here are a few recent pictures of Bruce – the first one is from the Aquarium and the second is from our own Anne Snelgrove, who is a volunteer at the Aquarium.
-Submitted by Gary Fansler