Sea turtle who had global following found dead

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida - Andre, a sea turtle who survived catastrophic injuries and underwent a year of rehabilitation and innovative surgeries, has been found dead, three weeks after he was released off the Florida coast.

Loggerhead Marinelife Center, which had cared for the turtle, said he was found Wednesday on Hutchinson Island. David McClymont, the center's president, said staffers were able to identify the turtle from a tag that had been placed on him, but he was in such bad condition they couldn't determine what killed him.

"The scientific advancements we made while rehabilitating Andre are already being applied in the treatment of other threatened and endangered sea turtles," the center said in a statement.

When Andre was found stranded on a sandbar on June 15, 2010, he had gaping holes in his shell, the result of two apparent boat strikes. More than three pounds of sand were inside him, along with at least a couple of crabs, a raging infection and a collapsed lung. His spinal cord was exposed, pneumonia was plaguing him and death seemed certain.

After beachgoers pulled him ashore on a boogie board, veterinarians began what became a yearlong effort to save him.

Doctors used a vacuum therapy system to remove fluid and close his wounds. A local orthodontist installed braces to close gashes in his cell, and doctors employed a procedure typically used to help regrow breast tissue in mastectomy patients to fill in holes.

Green sea turtles have persisted since prehistoric times, but are endangered today. Only a small fraction of hatchlings survive and even fewer go on to reach adulthood and reproduce.

At 177 pounds (80 kilograms) when he was released, Andre was believed to be about 25 years old.