Rare Turtle Returned to the Gulf

Mote Marine Laboratory researchers and volunteers completed an international loop Tuesday morning. A crowd was on hand to see one of the rarest sea turtles returned to home waters.
The Kemp's ridley that hatched on the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico wound up in the frigid waters near Holland.
The juvenile turtle somehow lost its way, perhaps swept by ocean currents, and wound up thousands of miles from home.
After three years of care and rehabilitation in Holland and Portugal, the marine animal was carried across the sands of Lido Beach this morning and returned to the warm embrace of the Gulf waters.
The Dutch dubbed the turtle “Johnny” and the Portuguese added, “Vasco da Gama,” for their famous explorer.
The Portuguese airline TAP flew the animal and his handlers to Miami, where they were escorted to Mote Marine by

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