Coast Guard gives turtle a lift from Oregon to California

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- A sea turtle rescued in the frigid Pacific Northwest was airlifted by the Coast Guard from Oregon to the more hospitable climate of Southern California.

Solstice, an endangered olive ridley turtle rescued Dec. 21 on Washington's Long Beach Peninsula, hitched a ride Tuesday on a Coast Guard C-130 training flight from Oregon, where she was being treated at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, to San Diego, where she will complete her rehabilitation at SeaWorld.

Evonne Mochon-Collura of the Oregon Coast Aquarium, said Solstice handled the three hours of air travel well.

"The crew was able to maintain a suitable temperature in the cargo area. [An hour into the flight,] I had the Coast Guard lift the lid. She was resting and calm and fine," she told U-T San Diego.

Aquarium officials said Solstice was dehydrated and her body temperature was low when she was found in December. They said sea turtles usually don't go farther north than Southern California, as they require water that's about 70 degrees to survive, but they are sometimes lured as far north as Alaska by water currents and food supply.

Solstice is expected to complete her rehabilitation and be released into the wild during the summer.