Jan 17, 2008 1:52 pm US/Eastern
Buddie Boogies Back Into The Briny Blue
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ―
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Buddie The Sea Turtle
CBS
"Buddie" the sea turtle, a popular resident of the Museum of Discovery and Science in Fort Lauderdale, has left the museum to be released back into the wild.
"Buddie" is a loggerhead sea turtle, who has been an ambassador to sea turtle education at the museum for nearly two years.
Before being released, Buddie was weighed and measured by museum officials and then loaded into a truck for the drive north. He'll be tagged at a Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission Field station, and then be released in the Indian River Lagoon near the Sebastian Inlet.
The area in which Buddie will be released is somewhat of a growing habitat for turtles of the same size and age before they venture out to the ocean.
The Museum of Discovery and Science acquired Buddie from the Volusia County Marine Science Center in May 2006. It is believed that he was stranded by the tail end of Hurricane Wilma and washed into Ponce Inlet.
When he first arrived at the museum in May 2006, Buddie weighed approximately 11 oz. and was so tiny he could fit in the palm of a hand. Almost two years later, Buddie has grown to the appropriate size and age to be released back into nature, around 27 lbs and a bit over 2 feet in length.
Museum staff believe Buddie's chances of survival are 'great' because he already knows how to hunt.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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