Nakaiy

Nakaiy, a female adult olive ridley turtle, was rescued by the Kuredu ProDivers team in Lhaviyani Atoll. When they discovered that she had a deep ligature injury on her front left flipper and was unable to dive, they immediately called our veterinary team for assistance. Nakaiy first spent a night at Kuredu Island Resort & Spa under the supervision of our sea turtle biologist in Lhaviyani, María. The next day, TMA flew her by seaplane to the Marine Turtle Rescue Centre in Baa Atoll.

In Dhivehi, the Maldivian language, Nakaiy can mean “constellation”, and it is also the name of the indigenous calendar system that predicts the weather in the Maldives. Nakaiy has entanglement injuries around her neck, mouth and left front flipper. The latter is quite severe and on X-rays, that limb looks quite diseased. We immediately started providing critical care in the hope of keeping her front flipper. She has been adjusting well to her surroundings and is eating and diving, although she doesn’t seem to be able stay submerged for long periods yet.

8 January 2024
This month we have started Nakaiy on Targeted External Weight Therapy to encourage her diving behaviour. She has shown a healthy appetite, resulting in weight gain, and her blood work has shown a positive trend towards normalisation. Her ligature wounds are progressing remarkably well, thanks to consistent wound cleaning and the application of cold laser therapy.

11 February 2024
Nakaiy was upgraded to our largest tank after Dhontha’s release. Here, she has demonstrated remarkable progress by attempting to dive and staying submerged. Although she still experiences some difficulties and tires more quickly than we would prefer, her motivation to persevere remains strong, mirroring our own commitment to her recovery.

Her appetite continues to be excellent, and we use the feeding sessions to train her in diving. To counter the persistent reduced range of motion in her left front flipper, we have initiated a physiotherapy regimen and continue with cold laser therapy.

12 March 2024
Nakaiy has made significant progress with her dive training. The team is taking full advantage of the large tank space by introducing submersible buoy feeding for Nakaiy, alongside her Targeted External Weight Therapy. This has yielded remarkable results, and Nakaiy can now dive almost to the bottom of the tank and remain submerged for extended periods, demonstrating improved buoyancy control. We are using physiotherapy and cold laser therapy to enhance her mobility in her left front flipper, which still exhibits some lingering reduced range of motion.

7 April 2024
Nakaiy continues to show improvements in her buoyancy control. Unfortunately, she had to be moved out of the largest tank to give space to our big boy Karaa, but that has not demotivated her from trying to dive. We are persisting with her tailored dive training which includes Targeted External Weight Therapy and submersible buoy feeding. We are also looking forward to discontinuing her medical therapy as she has been showing normalised blood work and X-rays over the past weeks.

12 May 2024
Nakaiy has remained stable over the past month, prompting us to discontinue all medical therapy. We’re now focusing on providing her with physiotherapy to enhance the range of motion in her left front flipper. Additionally, during dive training sessions, we’re continuously challenging her by gradually reducing the length of the submersible buoys.

9 June 2024
Nakaiy has progressed well through her dive training sessions, and we lowered her subversive buoys this month. Her physiotherapy sessions are slowly helping her to regain more range of motion and she now demonstrates some small movements in her left front flipper.

7 July 2024
Nakaiy is keeping a very good appetite. After a short period of disinterest, she is now showing more motivation during her dive training with the submersible buoys. We are providing her physiotherapy and laser therapy to improve the range of motion on her left front flipper.

11 August 2024
Nakaiy is making great progress with her diving skills, allowing us to further reduce the length of the submersible buoys used during her feeding sessions. Thankfully, Nakaiy maintains a very healthy appetite. Although she is less enthusiastic about her physiotherapy sessions for her left front flipper, she is responding well to the treatment.

8 September 2024
Nakaiy is one of our most determined turtles! She continues to thrive with the submersible buoys used during her feeding sessions, especially since having the entire medium tank to herself. We are continuing her Targeted External Weight Therapy in combination with buoy feeding sessions, to help further her diving skills.

6 October 2024
Recognising Nakaiy’s need for more space to expedite her rehabilitation, we successfully transferred her to our brand new Rehabilitation Centre at Soneva Jani in Noonu Atoll. We will continue Nakaiy´s diving therapy using Targeted External Weight Therapy along with submersible buoys during her feeding sessions. Nakaiy spent the first few days in her new home adjusting to her environment and showed little interest in food. However, by day three her appetite returned and she has been eating exceptionally well since then. She even demonstrated her diving skills during the submersible buoy training, leaving us all amazed at her rapid progress. We look forward to gradually reducing the length of her submerged buoys and watching her improve each day.

10 November 2024
Nakaiy has adapted remarkably well to her new temporary home in Noonu Atoll and has made significant progress with her diving skills over the past month. Her appetite remains stable, and we have successfully reduced the length of her feeding buoys multiple times as she was reaching them with ease. We have also discontinued the Targeted External Weight Therapy as she has been performing well without it. During non-feeding hours, Nakaiy actively engages in her diving practice, and we have observed her attempting small dives on her own. We are incredibly proud of her rapid progress!

8 December 2024
Nakaiy has shown remarkable progress in her diving, displaying good engagement during her feeding sessions. She is controlling her buoyancy a lot better, swimming and turning faster, as well as staying underwater for longer periods during feeding sessions. Nakaiy has also started diving more frequently outside of feeding hours, further demonstrating her growing confidence in her diving abilities.

12 January 2025
Nakaiy is still showing steady improvement in her diving skills, maintaining good buoyancy control and excellent agility in the water. Her feeding sessions remain dynamic and engaging, with Nakaiy demonstrating faster turns and extended periods submerged while feeding. Beyond mealtimes, she is diving more regularly, further solidifying her confidence and comfort underwater. Her consistent efforts highlight her growing strength.

9 February 2025
Unfortunately, Nakaiy´s use of her front flippers has progressively diminished. It is likely that the underlying bone disease has returned, which requires intensive medical treatment. Although not common, this is not an unexpected development in the course of this disease. We will readmit Nakaiy to the Marine Turtle Rescue Centre in Baa Atoll, where our veterinary team will provide her with the best possible care to overcome this setback.

9 March 2025
We have now returned Nakaiy to the Marine Turtle Rescue Centre at Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu. She had been showing signs of diminished use of her right front flipper, which suggests the underlying bone disease may have returned. While this isn’t uncommon in the course of her recovery, it does mean she’ll need intensive medical treatment moving forward. She is readapting to her tank at the Rescue Centre and we hope that with intensive care she will recover from this setback.

6 April 2025
We are monitoring Nakaiy’s condition closely, as the bone infection is still progressing. She has started to regain her appetite though, which is an encouraging sign. Her ongoing treatment includes medical therapy, laser therapy, and physiotherapy. To support her recovery, we have started buoy feeding to encourage her to dive down and use her limb again. We will continue to assess her progress and adjust her care as needed.