Turtle named for Obama freed on Independence Day

[July 06, 2009]  KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) -- A sea turtle that was named after President Barack Obama and rescued just before Inauguration Day was set free on Independence Day.

Obama the loggerhead sea turtle was found ailing off a Key West beach on Jan. 19, the eve of the inauguration. Suffering from an intestinal impaction, the 200-pound female was nursed back to health with a diet of squid and mineral oil at the Turtle Hospital in Marathon.

Turtle Hospital administrator Ryan Butts said the turtle was set free Saturday on a Key West beach as about 100 people watched. He says it was appropriate to give the loggerhead its liberty on the Fourth of July after being rescued at a historic moment.

He says the loggerhead "took off" after being set on the sand and "swam away with all the energy it had."

___

On the Net:

The Turtle Hospital:
http://www.turtlehospital.org/

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.