GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) — At least three sea turtles are set to return to the wild Tuesday morning after months of rehabilitation at the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport.

The Kemp’s ridley and Loggerhead turtles will be released into the Mississippi Sound at 10 a.m. across from Edgewater Mall. Each turtle has been fitted with a satellite tag, flipper tags and a microchip before release.

The satellite tags, glued to the top of the turtles’ shells, will provide researchers with valuable data every time the turtles surface for air. For the first time, a Loggerhead turtle will carry a tag capable of tracking water temperature.

“These are cold-blooded animals, and with these cold-blooded animals, they’re very sensitive to temperature,” IMMS Marine Ecologist Forrest Collins said

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