A 50-year-old disabled turtle named OD will live out the rest of his days in "retirement" at a Las Vegas casino.
The 320-pound green sea turtle has an irreparable collapsed lung which causes it to float lopsided, a disability that prevents OD from surviving in the wild.
OD, named after a charter boat that rescued him in 2008, has been under the care of the Florida Keys-based Turtle Hospital ever since. The conservation group began looking around the country for a place willing to take OD into permanent custody.
OD's new home will be the Shark Reef Aquarium at the Mandalay Resort. The 1.6 million gallon aquarium already houses several sea turtles.
As of Thursday morning, OD was packed into a special FedEx shipping container for the 11-hour trip to Las Vegas. FedEx is providing free air transportation for the 2,400 miles journey, Reuters reported.
"He's very lucky. FedEx has a tradition of flying odd critters around, having ferried panda bears, grizzly cubs, penguins, sea otters and even a rhino to zoos all over the world," FedEx spokesperson Carla Boyd told the Sun Sentinel.
Turtle Hospital Manager Bette Zirkelbach said OD is "ready now for a forever home ... where he can live out his life."
Andy Newman, a spokesperson for the Turtle Hospital quipped to the Sun Sentinel about OD's retirement plans:
"My understanding is that he's being given bar signing privileges at the Mandalay, so he's probably pretty happy about that."
Friday FedEx will reportedly transport a 300-pound juvenile tapir from Florida to California, where it will be delivered to the Los Angeles Zoo for breeding.