After five months of recuperation, a turtle that was injured by a boat propeller was released into the ocean on Monday.

The turtle, affectionately known as Split Ends, was brought to the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo during the Queen?s birthday weekend.

Tom Whayman and the Marine Police brought him in from Lantana because he suffered from a ten-inch propeller injury.

BAMZ were concerned with his condition and immediately performed surgery on his shell.

After daily wound care for several months it was decided in November that he had recovered enough to be released into the wild.

?Split Ends reached a point where his large wound was completely healed and he was subsequently released,? said Dr. Ian Walker, Acting Principal Curator of BAMZ. ?Keeping him in captivity longer did not provide him with any additional advantage. However, it will most likely take several years for his shell to grow back to normal.?

He was released at a northwest reef shelf known as Ely?s Flat after he was tagged.

He was released by the very man who saved him, Mr. Whayman, who joined the Bermuda Turtle Project for the event. The BTP tagged Split Ends so that his progress can be monitored.