Avi

Avi, meaning “sunshine” in Dhivehi, is an adult female olive ridley discovered floating and unable to dive by our sea turtle biologist Sarah, based at Soneva Jani in Noonu Atoll. She rescued Avi with help from resort staff and promptly called our veterinary team for advice. Avi spent one night at the resort awaiting transport arrangements. Generously, Soneva Jani sponsored a speedboat to transfer her directly from Noonu Atoll to Baa, where the Marine Turtle Rescue Centre is located.

A family that was on the snorkeling trip when Avi was rescued were very touched by the moment. They chose to name her Avi because she brought such light and incredible memories to their holiday.

Upon arrival at the Rescue Centre, Avi underwent a comprehensive health assessment, including physical examination, X-rays, full blood work, and neurological evaluation. Her injuries are consistent with a previous entanglement: she is missing her right front flipper and has a partially amputated left front flipper and ligature injuries to both hind flippers. Unfortunately, Avi is also anaemic and battling a gastrointestinal condition that has accumulated gas in her coelom, hindering her diving abilities.

Despite her challenges, Avi has been adapting well to the ICU tank and has begun to eat, albeit with a selective appetite. Given her anaemia, we aim to prevent her from overexerting and will maintain close monitoring of her condition.

12 March 2024
Avi’s wounds are healing well and she has shown significant progress in a short period of time. We have initiated Targeted External Weight Therapy for her dive training, proceeding cautiously to prevent overexertion due to her anaemia.

7 April 2024
Avi has been progressing slowly during the last month. Although none of her attempts to submerge herself have been successful, she is calmer and able to stay lower in the water than before. Her flipper injuries are healing nicely and her anaemia is improving slowly but steadily. Once her energy is restored, we are hoping to increase her dive training efforts. For now we are focused on treating her gastrointestinal condition and providing her with a varied and nutritious diet to support her health.

12 May 2024
Avi’s injuries continue to progress well and so has her appetite – now she has the most voracious cravings. We have started her on dive training through a combination of Targeted External Weight Therapy and submersible buoy feeding techniques.

9 May 2024
Avi has progressed well with her submersive buoy feeding sessions – we have lowered several times in the past month. She continues to have a ferocious appetite and is gaining weight well. Her wounds to her front flippers are now almost completely healed.

7 July 2024
Driven by her strong determination for food, Avi is showing steady progress with her submersible buoy feeding sessions. We are giving her cold laser therapy and both her front flipper wounds are almost completely healed.

11 August 2024
Avi’s stumps have fully healed after undergoing regular cold laser therapy sessions. However, her gastrointestinal condition continues to affect her buoyancy control. Despite this, she actively participates in the submersible buoy feeding sessions, enjoying the challenges they present.

20 August 2024
Tonight we lost our dear Avi. Despite the veterinary team’s dedicated efforts in closely monitoring her gastrointestinal condition and ventilation issues, Avi did not survive. After her passing, a post-mortem revealed that she was suffering from advanced lung disease and significant lung scarring, likely due to her previous entanglement trauma. These complications severely impaired her ability to breathe.
Avi’s story is a tragic reminder of the thousands of olive ridleys that encounter ghost nets each year and the devastating consequences they face.