\u201cWe removed copious amounts of mud, crabs, sea pork, leeches, barnacles, skeleton shrimp, and dead shell when she arrived early this morning, revealing wounds covered with fibronecrotic membrane, a scab-like tissue,\u201d read the notes, in part.<\/p>\n
With a slow metabolism, sea turtles require a lot of time to heal. Accordingly, Mama Pritchard remained in the care of the aquarium for almost two years. She was, by all accounts, a stand-out patient, winning the hearts of her caregivers and the public who visited her.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was quite the ambassador for sea turtles everywhere. A lot of people love sea turtles because of Mama Pritchard,\u201d Ritchie said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A hatchling loggerhead turtle, who was later linked through genetic testing to Mama Pritchard, is examined by a student from the University of South Carolina Beaufort, July 15, 2025. Mama Pritchard has nest on the island about every two years since 2002. SCDNR Permit MTP507.<\/p>\n
University of South Carolina Beaufort\/Provided<\/p>\n
Tipping the scales at 368 pounds by the end of her rehabilitation, Mama Pritchard was the largest sea turtle ever released by the South Carolina Aquarium. She returned to the sea with great fanfare on April 17, 2010<\/a>, from Isle of Palms County Park. For three years, she remained undetected. Resurfacing in 2013, Mama Pritchard found her way back to her namesake beach, nesting there five times. Two years later, she repeated the effort.<\/p>\n