KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — A 200-pound loggerhead sea turtle is convalescing in Key West with hopes he can eventually be released back into the wild.
Hunter was placed in a lagoon Wednesday with other marine life at the Key West Aquarium.
The adult male was first admitted to the Florida Keys-based Turtle Hospital in August 2012. He was released in December 2013 but rescued again this past November.
Hospital officials say Hunter had lockjaw and developed pneumonia. Treatment included daily jaw-stretching exercises and surgery to remove a fishhook lodged in the reptile's shoulder. Two remaining hooks are in areas too risky for an operation.
To make room to treat other turtles at the hospital, Hunter was transferred to the aquarium. He will be monitored and periodically radiographed to determine if the hooks have dissolved.
