Turtle that refuse to return to wild gets new home

BRUNSWICK, Ga., July 21 (UPI) -- A loggerhead sea turtle that refused to leave a rehabilitation center for turtles in Georgia has found a permanent home at Sea World Orlando, officials said.

Caton the sea turtle arrived at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island in 2009 after she was found stranded, CNN reported.

She was diagnosed as severely debilitated, but, after a few months of treatment, Caton was deemed healthy enough to be return to her native waters.

Staff at the center attempted to release her three times, but each time Caton would either not move from the beach, or leave and then swim back later.

"For these reasons, we consider her unreleasable," said the center's director, Terry Norton. "The center receives injured and ill sea turtles for rehabilitation purposes, but some of these turtles have permanent issues and are deemed unreleasable back to the wild. If an unreleasable sea turtle can survive comfortably in a captive setting, the center will make every attempt to place the turtle in a suitable facility."

After months of searching for a new home for Caton, the center found her one at Sea World Orlando, where she will be moved next week to be part of the park's new sea turtle exhibit, the report said.

"Caton is a beautiful sea turtle and will be a great ambassador for her species," Norton said. "She is a favorite of many of our visitors and I am confident she will hold a special place in the hearts of her new visitors."