This past March, a 322-pound loggerhead turtle named Lenny was found near Alligator Reef, just off of Islamorada, Florida. He was in rough shape: an injured flipper, struggling to swim, and bearing the telltale signs of a shark attack, according to an NBC News report.

An underwater photographer named Mike Papish, along with his buddies from Sundance WaterSports (one of those companies that operate parasailing and snorkeling type experiences you find around vacation destinations), spotted the suffering turtle. They rescued it and delivered him to Marathon, Florida to be saved. And, if Lenny survived, rehabilitated.

Bette Zirkelbach, hospital manager, quickly assessed that Papish’s assumption was correct. Lenny had been shredded apart by an especially large shark. Zirkelbach put Lenny on an IV drip, hooked him up with some antibiotics, and waited patiently, hoping Lenny survived his gnarly wounds.

Huge Sea Turtle Attacked By Shark Gets Released Back Into Florida Waters

“There are not a lot of predators, right, that could get a mouth around a turtle that size. So we are assuming it was a very large shark,” Zirkelbach told NBC News.

These poor sea turtles have such a hard time surviving the trip from the freshly hatched egg to the ocean. And their lives are fraught with danger from there on out. If one is found in rough shape, it needs to be taken care of by professionals like Zirkelbach so it can be tossed right back out into the ocean to father some babies.

After weeks of treatment, Lenny was finally ready to hit the seas again. On March 25, he was released back into the wild at Alligator Reef, where he was first found. Papish was there, snapping picks as Lenny was lowered back into the sea.

Papish thinks he saw Lenny give him a little wave of appreciation. “He looked back as I was getting his last shot, and then he just kind of waved.”