The Turtle Hospital

The Turtle Hospital is about 35 miles south of Islamorada at Marathon, on the Keys. 
Did you know sea turtles don't retract their heads or flippers?
Sea turtles are rescued and rehabilitated for various reasons.  They could swallow a bunch of debris like this, left,

This was all extracted from one turtle!

Green Turtle

Or they get tangled in fishline, and have to have a flipper amputated, as on the right.
There are special recycling cylinders on the beaches for used monofilament (fishline)

This turtle is a permanent resident, and is named Bubble Butt. His deformity was caused by an encounter with a boat.

Some turtles have weights glued to parts of their shell, to balance them.  Four kinds of turtles are in the hospital, some permanently. They do have a larger area to swim in.  They would never be able to survive in the wild.  One is going to be released tomorrow, with great ceremony.  The cutest was a little 6 1/2 month old turtle who has never been touched. She is being used for research.

Four of the five Flordian species of sea turtles are endangered, and it is illegal to buy sea turtle products like jewelry (made from real shell, that is), oil, leather, meat, or eggs.
A worthwhile presentation.