According to SeaWorld Rescue, the juvenile loggerhead turtle was rescued in February.
Rescuers found the endangered sea turtle emaciated, lethargic, and suffering from severe pneumonia.
The reptile likely ended up this way after being cold-stunned, a type of hypothermia that can develop in sea turtles caught in ocean water that rapidly declines in temperature.
Turtles are often left cold-stunned and ill after a sudden cold snap or unseasonably cold weather.
SeaWorld Rescue and Turtles Fly Too, a nonprofit that helps stranded turtles get to rehab facilities, partnered together to rehabilitate Ruth.
After months of dedicated care, the sea turtle recovered from her health issues and recently got the all-clear to return to ocean waters.
Ruth was released into the warm seas off the coast of La Jolla, California, last week. Her safe return to her natural home makes her the 2,889th reptile rescued by SeaWorld Rescue.
SeaWorld Rescue also recently aided in the recovery of four marine turtles found injured in the waters of Australia, one of which had extensive flipper injury from a fishing line.
SeaWorld Rescue, a 50-year effort to save marine animals, says these rescues are part of the group’s commitment to giving vulnerable creatures a second chance.
