Meet Penny, Our Longest Staying Patient
Penny is an adult Olive Ridley turtle who was found in Lhaviyani atoll in May 2017.
Intake Date: 13 May 2017
Length: 65 cm
Weight: 19.9 kg
Status: Released 8th March 2019
Penny has been adopted for Courtney by Sarah, for Andrea Greenaway by Annie Greenaway, by Jan-Hendrik Poehler, Rohan F. Zehethofer, Jutta Real, Marianne Traber, Roseanne, Karin and by Jörg, for Melissa by Michael, by Viki Jurek, Petra, Susan Schaumkessel and Olaf Choschzig.
Penny was previously under the care of Naifaru Juvenile Rescue centre, but was transferred to us for veterinary care. She had a severely damaged right flipper with only a stump remaining.
Following surgery to remove this stump, she healed perfectly. However, Penny suffered from severe buoyancy problems; before we could be release her, she needed to be able to dive.
We saw improvements each week and she eventually started to dive to the bottom of the large tank after food. We also took Penny for swimming lessons in the ocean, which proved to have a great impact on her recovery.
She become a very quick swimmer and one day she suddenly took off and nearly escaped past the edge of the reef! However, she was still getting tired quickly from her buoyancy condition, so we were able to catch up when she popped to the surface to rest.
Finally, after nearly two years at the Rescue Centre, (and on International Women’s Day no less!), we discovered Penny very low in the water. She easily dived down after food, so we decided to take her for a swim in the sea to test her buoyancy.
As soon as she was in the ocean, she easily dived down and swam along the bottom, even resting on the reef at points. In classic Penny style she wasn’t all that interested in swimming off quickly; she was more interested in finding snacks on the reef! Despite having just had her dinner, she spent a long time exploring the reef and munching on the odd sponge. We even encountered a friendly hawksbill whilst we swam with her.
We swam a long time with her to ensure she was ready for release and watched as she explored the reef before diving off the drop off.
We can hardly believe that she was finally released after being with us such a long time. We are amazed and so happy for her. We wish you all the best back home Penny!
