An endangered loggerhead turtle awaits patiently inside a pet carrier provided by the Minnesota Zoo. The turtle was returned to southwest Florida by External Affair's Scott Flaherty in August after being brought illegally to Minnesota in 2004. - Photo courtesy Minnesota Zoo

A year-old loggerhead turtle brought illegally to Minnesota as a hatchling from Florida got a first-class trip home August 10, thanks to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Minnesota Zoo and Sun Country Airlines.

The turtle's odyssey began in September 2004, when Service special agents received the turtle from the Minnesota Herpetological Society, who received it from an unidentified person. The Service asked aquarists at the Minnesota Zoo to care for the turtle while the Service conducted an investigation in to how the federally-protected sea turtle came to Minnesota. The zoo cared for the turtle for about one year. The turtle grew large enough to warrant its own 150 gallon tank and was placed on public display.

In August, Special Agent Sheila O'Connor of the St. Paul Law Enforcement Office was working with the zoo to return the turtle to Florida. O'Connor asked Scott Flaherty in External Affairs if he could help find an air carrier that would allow the turtle to fly inside the main cabin, avoiding possible harmful temperatures the turtle could encounter in the plane's cargo hold. Flaherty spoke with public relations officials at Twin Cities' based Country Airlines about the turtle's unique transportation needs. The airline agreed to transport the turtle and a Service escort to Ft. Myers, Florida at no cost. "We will provide this passenger with top-notch service," said Sun Country's Chief Operating Officer Shaun Nugent. "We pride ourselves on giving all of our passengers a great experience and although a rare loggerhead turtle does not fit our usual customer profile, this will be no exception."

Following a flurry of interviews with Twin Cities media, the eight-pound turtle and its escort--External Affairs' Scott Flaherty--boarded a 6:45 a.m. flight to Fort Myers, Florida. Upon arrival, the turtle and Flaherty were met by crowds of curious air travelers and more news media. Following more interviews, the turtle was then transported to its new home: an 1800-gallon aquarium at the Naples Nature Center in Naples, Florida. The Center is operated by the Conservancy of South West Florida, a non-profit organization that specializes in conservation and rehabilitation of Florida's sea turtles and other wildlife.

The turtle will remain at the Center for about one year, when it will be large enough to survive on its own in the wild. The turtles's story generated a large amount of media interest. The turtle's departure was covered by two television stations and one radio station in the Twin Cities. In Florida, three television stations, three newspapers and NPR radio covered the arrival and transfer of the turtle to the Naples Nature Center. The story also aired on eight other television stations from Jacksonville to West Palm Beach.

Loggerhead turtles are listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act and protected by federal and state laws. In a previous case, an Ohio schoolteacher was fined $2,800 for illegally taking eggs from a nest on Florida's East Coast in 2001. Some of those eggs later hatched, and the hatchlings were repatriated into the Atlantic