ISLAMORADA, Fla. (AP) - An adult female loggerhead sea turtle, discovered in an oceanside residential pool in the Florida Keys, has been rescued and released.
Officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and The Turtle Hospital removed the turtle from the pool Monday. They examined it, deemed it was healthy and carried it back to the ocean.
A Turtle Hospital official believes the female, estimated to weigh about 250 pounds, had climbed up onto the beach to lay eggs but had become disoriented and accidentally made its way into the pool.
Officials caution coastal area residents and businesses to turn off intense artificial lights during turtle nesting season to prevent disorientation.
Nesting season in the Florida Keys continues through mid-October.