Tumor-Covered Sea Turtle Nutella Returns to Ocean After 4 Months

When Nutella the sea turtle arrived at The Turtle Hospital in Marathon, Florida last December, her chances looked grim. The small green sea turtle was wrapped in abandoned fishing line, had swallowed more line, and tumors covered her body and eyes so extensively that staff feared she wouldn't survive.

"Nutella was a long shot," said Bette Zirkelbach, manager of The Turtle Hospital. "And she is one that I seriously did not think was going to make it."

The fishing line had cut off circulation so badly that Nutella nearly lost a flipper. But the care team wasn't ready to give up on her.

Surgeons removed her tumors in two separate operations. Staff massaged her damaged flipper back to health using laser therapy and an unusual treatment: honey. Within weeks, Nutella passed the fishing line she'd swallowed.

Four months later, on Earth Day, Nutella paddled back into the ocean at Sombrero Beach. More than 200 people gathered to celebrate her return to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

The Ripple Effect

Nutella's recovery mirrors a bigger conservation victory. In October 2025, green sea turtles were officially reclassified from endangered to "least concern" after forty years of protection efforts.

"Consistent hard work pays off in conservation," Bryan Wallace, a sea turtle expert at the International Union for Conservation of Nature, told NPR. "We went from being pretty worried about green turtle populations to watching their numbers increase over the last few decades."

Wallace cautioned that challenges remain. But he emphasized a powerful message: "When we do the right things, conservation works."

For Zirkelbach, Nutella's release carried extra meaning on Earth Day. She referenced the recent Artemis II space mission and the astronauts' view of our planet from space.

"They saw one planet, one living planet," Zirkelbach said. "So, all of us are connected."

One small turtle's journey from near death to freedom shows what's possible when we refuse to give up.