OCEAN CITY — After a long and intense rehabilitation at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the sea turtle “Blade” was re-released into the ocean near the Inlet in Ocean City last week.
Blade, a Kemp Ridley’s sea turtle, came to the National Aquarium last December in bad shape with an infection and lost mobility in his shoulder joints. For roughly 10 months, the National Aquarium’s Animal Health team closely monitored Blade’s condition including an aggressive antibiotic therapy to treat his sepsis and a physical therapy program to improve the mobility in the shoulder joints of his swimmer fins.
In June, Blade underwent an arthroscopy procedure on his shoulder joints, providing the dual benefit of improving his mobility and allowing scientists to take tissue samples to determine the type and extent of his infection. Once the type of infection was determined, Blade was put on an aggressive antibiotic program specific to his illness.
Despite the surgery and treatment program, it remained touch and go for a long time with Blade, who was not eating and was losing weight at an alarming rate. However, Blade rebounded after his procedures and began to turn a corner.
“Several days after the procedure, we began offering Blade live food items, including blue crabs, mud crabs and small bivalves,” said National Aquarium Marine Mammal Stranding Coordinator Jenn Dittmar. “Blade had not been eating for several weeks leading up to the arthroscopy and was losing weight, so we were overjoyed when we received a call from a volunteer to tell us that Blade had excitedly eaten a small blue crab just days after surgery.”
From that day on, Blade’s appetite returned and he began eating a steady diet of crabs, razor clams, shrimp, squid and capelin. He began to put the lost weight back on and actually gained about four pounds in the weeks following his procedures. In the weeks leading up to his release last week, Blade had been eating about a pound of seafood each week.
With his appetite improved, Blade still needed to undergo physical therapy to gain strength and restore his lost range of motion before he could be re-released. The therapy included swimming in a rehab pool at the aquarium against a current. With each passing day, Blade’s health returned and his mobility and ability to swim against the current improved.
Finally, Blade was ready to be released back into the ocean. Last week, National Aquarium staffers transported Blade by truck to Ocean City and he was released back into the ocean last Tuesday afternoon. He has been fitted with a satellite tag so scientists can track his movements.
“Blade definitely made us all proud as he took off for his home without looking back at all,” said Dittmar. “We have every confidence that he will do fantastic in the wild.”