BOSTON (AP) — The New England Aquarium says it has discovered a rescued sea turtle only has one lung.
The aquarium says being born with one lung is an extremely rare medical condition for a vertebrate, and this turtle dramatically defied the odds to live this long.
It says the turtle is 2 to 3 years old and will hopefully be released back into the ocean eventually.
The annual sea turtle stranding season occurs in November and December on Cape Cod. Mass Audubon volunteers and staff search the beaches for cold-stunned turtles.
The aquarium did an x-ray on this turtle to check for pneumonia. The image looked odd, but was inconclusive.
The Massachusetts Veterinary Referral Hospital placed the turtle in its high-tech imaging tunnel, which confirmed that the turtle lacked a right lung.
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