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Loggerhead turtles released at Inlet Beach

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One was eager, one was a little confused, and the other two just took their time. But in the end, all four loggerhead turtles returned to the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday as part of the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park CARE Center's turtle release.

About 200 people came to Inlet Beach in South Walton on Thursday morning to watch four sea turtles make their way back to the Gulf of Mexico.

All four were subadult loggerhead turtles, each weighing between 34 and 45 kilograms, and each was rehabilitated at the CARE center after being hooked near piers in the area.

Volunteers and people from the Gulfarium arrived at the beach around 9:30 a.m. and began setting up the tent and marking a path for the turtles.

As soon as the barriers were put up to mark the walkway, people crowded in to get a front row seat to witness the release. Even students from the Ohana Institute came over to witness the release.

Some people have seen a release before, for others it was a first.

It was the first visit for the Bates family from Michigan.

“We’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Anna Bates as they waited excitedly.

Her daughter Kyla was overjoyed to be able to witness such an event.

“It’s my first time…that’s why I’m crying,” Kyla Bates said.

Her younger sister Amina immediately showed off her turtle phone case.

Workers brought the turtles to the beach in large tubs and released them one by one.

First up was Echo, a 100-pounder, carried down by Melissa Winward and Mandy Basnight.

As soon as they had placed Echo on the sand about 15 feet from the water, he put on his water wings and set off.

Next up was Fillmore, who was taken down by Mallery Gilbert and Shelby Stegemoller. Fillmore was relaxed and took his time getting to the water.

The third loggerhead turtle to fall into the water was Elmer. Jenn Burns and Tabitha Seigfried carried him down. As soon as they put Elmer on the sand, he turned around and looked back toward the dunes. They picked him up and turned him over, but he was confused again. On the third try, Elmer finally managed to swim in the right direction and swam away effortlessly.

Mira was the last to go. Melissa Winward and Rebecca Nash brought her down. Finally, they had to lift her up and carry her to the water.

This was the second time this year that Echo and Fillmore have been in rehab after they were caught with a fish hook at the Navarre Fishing Pier.

Elmer loved the Navarre Pier and for Mira it was her fourth visit to the CARE center.

“What happens is that the turtles run into their hooks and get caught in the flipper or actively eat the bait,” said Tabitha Siegfried, stranding coordinator at the Gulfarium.

“We see a lot of internal hooks in our patients,” she said.

How long the rehabilitation of a turtle takes “varies from case to case,” said Siegfried.

“Echo has been with us since June,” she said, noting that others have been at the facility since May.

“One of them was in rehab the longest, for eleven months,” said Siegfried.

And before they are released, they undergo a “medical examination,” she said.

Their blood work will be checked and if they are “eating well and diving, they are ready to go,” Siegfried said.

And the turtles were willing and ready to go, except Elmer, who was confused.

“I don’t know why this happens,” said Siegfried.

“Sometimes they don't feel like going into the water … but it's just an entertaining show for all the spectators,” she said.

The release of the turtles itself only took about 15 minutes, and once everyone was gone, the crowd disappeared too.

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