MURRELLS INLET, SC (WBTW) – A two-hundred pound loggerhead sea turtle named Magnolia made her way back to the ocean on Saturday morning. She had been at Ripley’s Aquarium in Myrtle Beach since July where the Animal Husbandry Team worked to nurse her back to health.
Tim Handsel, Director of Husbandry at Ripley’s said, “Magnolia was in need of a place to recuperate and recover. We have been very pleased with her progress, and she is now very active, eating normally and is ready to be released.”
Hundreds of people came to Huntington Beach State Park on Saturday morning to watch Magnolia return to the ocean. She was unsure at first and stopped a few times on her trek to the water, but began to scoot faster as she got closer to the ocean.
There were cheers once she went under the surf and her fin could be seen in the waves as if she was waving to everyone on the beach.
Magnolia was found stranded on the shore in North Litchfield. She was transported to the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston where staff examined her and found she was severely underweight, malnourished and covered in barnacles. She was cared for until she was strong enough to travel and then was transported back to Myrtle Beach.
At Ripley’s Aquarium, the staff removed Magnolia’s barnacles and continued to do check ups. Ripley’s staff said the loggerhead now weighs over 200 pounds and eats about 10 pounds of seafood a day.
Magnolia is the ninth turtle Ripley’s Aquarium has rehabilitated and released this year.
