- February 8, 2025
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"Go Xanadu, go!"
That was what crowds cheered as the male loggerhead sea turtled, christened Xanadu, made his way across the sand and into the Atlantic Ocean. Once he was in the water, spectators cheered as another sea turtle was healthy enough to return to his home in the wild.
The sub-adult sea turtle was released by the Marine Science Center at noon on Tuesday, Aug. 8 at the north side of the Ponce Inlet Beach Street Ramp. Another sea turtle, Whitney, had previously been released on Friday, July 7, after her stay of almost three months at Ponce Inlet’s Marine Science Center.
According to the Center, on April 23, local beachgoers found Xanadu stranded on the rocks in Ponce Inlet. Turtle department staff from the Center responded and brought the then 123-pound Xanadu back for treatment. Xanadu was found to be anemic and severely underweight. Staff also found he had a compromised immune system and was loaded with intestinal parasites.
The turtle was treated for three months beginning with antibiotics to prevent further infection, along with "iron and vitamin injections, fluids with electrolytes, as well as a dewormer," which was anti-parasitic. Xanadu was "also started on a highly nutritious diet, including live blue crabs, to allow for normal foraging behavior prior to release."
When Xanadu was released on Tuesday, he had made a full recovery and was estimated to weigh close to 160 pounds.
Spectators
Many people in the large crowd watching Xanadu's return to the sea on Tuesday were locals curious to see their first turtle release. For some, this was their second, even, third time that they had headed to the beach to watch a once-again turtle released into the wild.
Karen Kunar, who had moved to the area from Virginia a few months ago, had biked to the beach to see Xanadu. She had also been able to see loggerhead Whitney released last month.
"I just joined Facebook so I could be friends with the Marine Science Center so I could learn about these turtle releases," Kunar said. "It's very exciting."
For Kimberly Walker, the event was a family affair. She had attended the release with her daughter, daughter-in-law and grandson. Walker said before Tuesday her family had never had a chance to see a sea turtle released back into the wild. She added that she and her family were also planning to make a trip to the Marine Science Center that day or the next.
"I'm fascinated with sea turtles, I always have been," Walker said. "I tried to raise my children children around them and now I'm trying expose my grandchild as well."
This was also a first-time event for Dan Pici, who was at the beach with family who were visiting Port Orange from Pennsylvania.
"I think it's very neat that they rehabiliated it within the last three months and it's ready to go back in the ocean," Pici said.
Some people, like John Sapp and his family, had unexpectedly decided to see Xandu's release. Sapp said he was visiting the Science Center on Tuesday when they were told what would be happening just down the road.
"We thought we'd come out and witness it," Sapp said.
Local Earnest Brady, camera in hand, said this was his second time seeing a sea turtle released back into the wild noting that he simply has a love for turtles.
And as Port Orange resident Linda Blanco put it, seeing a sea turtle released for the first time is a must for any person.
"It's fascinating, it is nature, it's something to see at least once," Blanco said. "It's a bucket list kind of thing."
