A 350-pound loggerhead turtle was rescued in Truro on Friday.
Officials in Truro on Friday rescued a rare 350-pound loggerhead turtle that was stranded on a beach and struggling to breathe.
A video posted by the Mass Audubon WellFleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary shows a number of people helping move the turtle before it was transported to the New England Aquarium for medical treatment.
One person can be heard saying, “This is one lucky turtle.”
One woman said they weren’t sure if the turtle was alive when it was found until it moved one of its feet.
Individuals from the Truro Department of Public Works and the Mass Audubon WellFleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary helped rescue the male loggerhead turtle.
The aquarium said the turtle arrived responding only “minimally” and was not initiating breaths on his own. Vets and biologists have been administering medication and replacement fluids to help stabilize the turtle.
Connie Merigo, the aquarium’s Marine Animal Rescue Department Manager says the loggerhead is in guarded condition with multiple health problems.
A male loggerhead turtle is receiving medical aid at the New England Aquarium after being recused by town officials in Truro.
The turtle, which the aquarium said is at least 30 years old, but could be decades older, is now a the aquarium’s sea turtle hospital in Quincy.
The aquarium said loggerhead turtles are “extremely rare” in Massachusetts, especially this early in the season.