June Cleaver the loggerhead turtle is released into the ocean off Florida after rehab
Sep 3, 2025, 2:44 PM
After recovering from health problems a 230 pound loggerhead turtle named June Cleaver is released in the Atlantic Ocean by the Brevard Zoo's Turtle Healing Center Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025, in Melbourne, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/John Raoux)
MELBOURNE, Fla. (AP) — She may not wear a pearl necklace like her namesake from the TV show, “Leave it Beaver,” but June Cleaver, the 230-pound loggerhead turtle, nevertheless was happy as a clam to be going home.
Marine biologists on Florida’s Space Coast on Wednesday released June Cleaver back into the ocean before 300 beachgoers following a two-month rehabilitation at the Brevard Zoo’s Sea Turtle Healing Center in Melbourne, Florida.
The turtle was first observed having difficulty laying eggs in Melbourne Beach in June. The Sea Turtle Preservation Society transported her to the Healing Center, and caretakers discovered that she had been hit by a boat. They gave her several CT scans to make sure that the injury to her top shell wasn’t critical, according to the center.
The scans showed that her wound wasn’t fatal but she needed rehabilitation. While at the center, she laid 113 eggs in a pool. Biologists buried the eggs in the beach where they are incubating, according to the center.
The center said June Cleaver had “diva” tastes in food, preferring squid over the crabs which typically are favored by loggerheads.
