Is “Wrinklebutt” a long-term resident of San Diego Bay?
“Wrinklebutt” was captured in San Diego Bay for the first time in 1976. Her captor, Margie Stinson, a graduate student at San Diego State University, named her, fed her a pill-sized device to measure body temperature and attached a tracking device to her shell. At that time, “Wrinklebutt” weighed 392 pounds. Researchers were astonished by her ponderous weight as they tried to carry her across a stretch of mudflat to a truck waiting to transport her for an overnight stay at Sea World. At Sea World, marine veterinarians helped assess her and attach her tracking device. Stinson was able to nestle the tracking device into the unusual depression in her shell, and the tracking device remained attached for two and a half years. Since then, the turtle has become somewhat of a local legend due to her massive size and distinctive shell. This made it easy for researchers to recognize her when she was resighted regularly throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Up until recent events, the turtle had not be
