Court orders Turtle to be released after 41 years, so scientists are teaching him to be a free turtle again

Captured in a fishing net off the coast of Argentina in 1984, Jorge the loggerhead turtle was finally released back into the Atlantic Ocean on April 11. Weighing over 220 pounds, Jorge spent four months completing a journey of about 2700 kilometers north to the coast of Brazil, successfully overcoming a challenging reintroduction to the wilderness.

After Jorge’s entrapment, he spent 37 years in a shallow aquarium tank at the old municipality of Mendoza, Argentina. Once accustomed to the unidentified depths of the ocean, he was forced to spend his entire life in a saltwater pool which was only 1.5 meters deep. Raised on a diet of boiled eggs and meat, Jorge has certainly lost his ability to attack prey, along with other major survival instincts required for marine survival.

It was cruel on the part of the fishermen who trapped him in his net and brought him to the municipality as a centerpiece when his life was destined to be lived under water, with various other species. Jorge's journey of relocation was bolstered by a group of activists who have been fighting for his freedom for many years. Their incessant demand to free the captured turtle was finally heard in 2021 when over 60,000 people signed a petition to release him. The Argentine court finally conceded to the valid demands of biologists and activists combined, and a three-year rehabilitation program was announced to prepare Jorge’s return to the wild.

After spending about four decades in a false pool, he had lost all his instincts. The researchers, through their rehabilitation program, taught him to find prey and how to sense nearby predators. For better results, in October 2022, he was transferred to the Marine Fauna Rehabilitation Center in Mar del Plata, where he had to relearn how to hunt, navigate currents, and avoid predators. Marine biologist Alejandro Saubidet, who led Jorge’s re-education, told National Geographic, “In three years, we managed to get him to recover the instinct he had almost lost. We had to see if it was feasible to return him to the environment.” These biologists attached a Crittercam to his body to oversee his journey back to his home.

Mariela Dassis, a researcher at the National University of Mar del Plata, in charge of his satellite monitoring, said she barely slept the first day when he was released into his oceanic voyage. She explained to National Geographic that she feels much more relaxed now that Jorge has succeeded in completing a significant portion of his journey and will be reaching Praia do Forte in northern Brazil in just a few days. Fishing nets are a serious concern for aquatic animals. A What’s in the Net study found that at least 720,000 seabirds, 300,000 cetaceans, 345,000 seals and sealions, over 250,000 turtles, and tens of millions of sharks annually die after being caught in fisheries around the world. Sometimes it's an unintentional catch or some unattended fishing nets capturing these animals, leading to their painful death.

Turtles drown if they can’t reach the surface, as they need the ground to breathe. And most of them die due to suffocation when they get captured. Jorge’s story is unique and heartwarming, but not many survive, as shown by the study. Even if they do survive, they are not as fortunate as Jorge to be released into the wild. As is the story of the world’s oldest captive green sea turtle, Lulu, and her companion, Gulliver. They are still seeking their return. Caught by an advertising company in the 1940s to feature in a television advertisement, both turtles were hacked off their life, which they were supposed to spend in the ocean. Jorge's story has reignited hope among animal activists, and they have grown more stern in their demands to release Lulu and Gulliver. Let's hope we get to hear their happy story soon.