'Graduation' day for the 'Lucky 12'

North Carolina may not be one of the first states people think of when the subject of sea turtles comes up. But many Carolina residents do their parts each year to see to it that the eggs that are laid on N.C.'s beaches are protected. Coastal residents guard these locations in hours-long shifts, keeping people and animals away.

On Topsail Beach on Wednesday, the "baby" turtles known as the "Lucky 12" made the trek to their ancestral home while hundreds of people cheered them on, according to the Jacksonville Daily News.

The eager onlookers could be seen in kayaks offshore or standing amid the waves for a closer look.

Some laughed, some jumped, some cried and some clapped.

But it was obvious to everyone who witnessed the annual event that the 100-to 200-pound animals were happy to go home to the ocean. The turtles were out of sight in a matter of seconds.

“It’s like watching your kid graduate,” said eight-year volunteer Beth Howard with the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center at Topsail Beach.

The sea turtle hospital has spent months and in some cases years preparing the 12 loggerhead, green and Kemp’s Ridley turtles to be released back into their familiar habitat.

For everyone involved, it was a long, difficult road. Each of the turtles was found stranded and in dire need of medical assistance and tender loving care. The problems included massive head injury, shark bite, propeller wound, starvation and entanglement in fishing line. Each turtle was treated by a veterinarian, and some underwent multiple surgeries. ...

It should be noted that Beasley's operation is one of the most respected turtle rescue facilities in the United States.

“It’s an opportunity for us to get together and to rejoice in the fact that we have been able to bring these turtles to full recovery and that they are ready to return to the wild,” Jean Beasley, director and founder of the hospital, told the newspaper before the release. “… And it’s an opportunity to carry this message (about conservation) to school children because they are our hope for the future.”

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