Disabled Turtle Gets A Hand... Sort Of

"We have such a good feeling for this turtle. She has just kind of struck a nerve with all of us," said Kelly Martin, a biologist with the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, Florida. "Everybody's got a little soft spot for her."

The special affection for Clover comes from her disability; she is missing her rear flippers. According to Martin, the scars indicate that the flippers were bitten off by sharks.

Clover, an endangered leatherback turtle, got her name from a family vacationing from Vermont. Clover is Vermont's state flower.

"With no rear flippers, leatherbacks and any sea turtle are not able to dig a proper egg cavity," Martin said, "so they end up depositing their eggs on the sand, and they don't survive."

Not only did the turtle get some much needed help, but they helpers are allowing nature to take it from there.  While that still makes me cringe, I see the necessity of that and respect them for doing the right thing.  And of course... awwwww.