An endangered sea turtle was returned to the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday, months after he was found stranded on a beach and suffering from hypothermia last winter.

Named Elton, the juvenile Kemp’s ridley sea turtle was discovered cold-stunned, or hypothermic, on the shores of Barnstable, Massachusetts, in December.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said sea turtles such as Elton can become cold-stunned when they do not migrate south in time to escape the onset of cold temperatures.

Following months of rehabilitation with the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, Elton was released into the Atlantic by way of a beach by the New York Aquarium in Brooklyn.

The animal, which officials estimate to be between 2 and 5 years old, was set onto the sand and quickly swam back into the water

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