The 200-pound adult, male, loggerhead sea turtle, Damon, got to swim into the Gulf again after being in rehab at Gulf World Marine Institute for almost a year. He was admitted for buoyancy control problems, which prevented him from staying at the bottom of his habitat when diving. “In Damon’s case he didn’t have any signs of external trauma, but somehow in its respiratory track perhaps there could have been a tear or the air had been allowed to enter his body cavity, and if the air is anywhere except the lungs, it doesn’t have anywhere else to go, so we just had to get the air out or wait till it escaped on its own,” said Lauren Albrittain, Gulf World Marine Institute Stranding Coordinator. A satellite tag was put on Damon so researchers can now track his location and water depth. A second surprise sea turtle was also released Wednesday morning. It was brought into the institute on Tuesday night, and after some examinations, it was ready to be released into the Gulf in the morning alongside Damon. These sea turtle releases show that Gulf World Marine Institute is continuing sea turtle rescues and is still committed to providing the rehabilitation of marine mammals despite the ongoing investigations at Gulf World Marine Park adjacent to their property. Institute officials said they are a separate non-profit 501c3 organization and the only leading marine mammal response group in the Panhandle for stranded marine mammals. “We are a separate organization, and we have maintained our same operations during the entire thing, still rescuing turtles at the piers, and major cold-stunned events, so yeah, we’re just moving along as normal,” said Secret Holmes-Douglas, Gulf World Marine Institute Director. Institute officials say it is critical for them to keep rescuing and rehabilitating sea turtles with the busy summer season coming up. Officials also remind people to call *FWC or 18884043922 if you see a hurt or stranded sea turtle at the pier or beach.