MARATHON, Fla. – The Turtle Hospital in Marathon is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a suspect who its staff members believe shot a loggerhead turtle in the head with a spear, the organization’s manager said Tuesday.
A guest at the Lime Tree Bay Resort, located at 68500 Overseas Highway in Layton, discovered the wounded turtle Thursday afternoon.
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The male loggerhead was “on the rocks in distress with a spear sticking out of its head and (its) front flipper entangled in fishing line,” Bette Zirkelbach, the manager of the Turtle Hospital, said.
Zirkelbach said the guest called Turtle Hospital staff to retrieve the injured reptile and a veterinarian later performed emergency surgery to dislodge the spear from the turtle’s head.
Staff at the hospital dubbed the turtle “Aubie,” after Auburn University, but after he showed neurological symptoms, a CT scan revealed the spear passed through the turtle’s brain. According to hospital officials, that caused irreversible damage and led staff to euthanize him.
“This does not appear to be an accident, as the turtle has an injury in the same location as a previous case of a loggerhead turtle speared in the head,” Zirkelbach said. “This has the signs of malicious intent.”
Sea turtles are protected under both state and federal laws pertaining to endangered species and the suspect could face time behind bars.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Turtle Hospital at 305-743-2552; callers can remain anonymous.