Addy, a 3-year-old loggerhead sea turtle, was released by her caretakers from the Tybee Island Marine Science Center into the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday.
When she was found in a trash can at the Admiral Inn on Tybee Island three years ago, Addy weighed less than a AA battery. She measured just under 2 inches nose to tail, and her shell was smaller than a square Post-it Note.
Although she was the runt of six loggerhead hatchlings an intoxicated Kentucky couple snatched from the beach one evening, Addy – described by the center's Executive Director Cathy Sakas as a "champion crab cruncher" – is now a robust 56 pounds and ready to make her way in the wild. When she returns to these shores in 20 or so years to lay eggs, Addy will be recognized easily by her tag and chip, provided by the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: And she's off: Tybee Island Marine Science Center releases loggerhead turtle Addy into the Atlantic
