Why Sea turtles need your help!
Sea turtles are at risk of extinction due to many threats. We cannot allow this to happen because they play a crucial role in maintaining the health and balance of marine ecosystems that humans, and many other species, rely on. Olive Ridley Project (ORP) rescues sick and injured sea turtles, providing life-saving medical care and therapy until they are strong enough to be returned to the wild. We also contribute to broader conservation efforts to protect these beautiful animals.
How ORP Is Saving Sea Turtles
ORP aims to ensure long-term survival of our world’s iconic sea turtles and the ecosystems they support by combining rescue, rehabilitation, and release of sick and injured turtles, scientific research, and educational outreach. We need funds to provide life-saving care for more injured and sick sea turtles, carry out vital research, and grow local veterinary capacity through training, giving our sea turtle patients the best chance at recovery and release back into the wild.
To provide the treatment, therapy, food, and care to enable each sea turtle patient to heal, and make sure they can dive and feed successfully, so they can be returned to the wild, is a long and costly process. There are costs for surgical equipment and drugs, medicine, and food. And many turtles require specialist treatment such as plasma or laser therapy – sometimes both – to recover from wounds and infection.
The Big Give has pledged up to £5,000 to match donations made to Olive Ridley Project via our Big Give Green Match Campaign.
This means a donation of £10 from you today will be doubled to £20 – at no extra cost to you.
But the opportunity to get your donation doubled is only available for the next few days, so please donate today, if you can.
Funds raised will help us continue treating our turtle patients. They will make sure we don’t have to turn any sea turtles away when they are found sick, injured and in need of our help. And they will also help us train more sea turtle vets and surgeons, so there is a network of specialist professionals available in the areas most frequented by turtles – so we can do everything possible to save these beautiful creatures.
So, please donate whatever you can afford today, to help us save even more turtles and protect them for generations to come.
Here are three of the more than 240 patients we have cared for – you will be helping many more like them if you donate today
Kurangi is a juvenile olive ridley turtle who was found with both front flippers entangled in a ghost net in Shaviyani Atoll. After several seaplane and speedboat transfers, Kurangi arrived at the Marine Turtle Rescue Centre in Baa Atoll. Sadly, Kurangi not only suffered wounds to her head and carapace, but her left front flipper was so severely injured it required amputation.
Nakaiy, an adult female olive ridley turtle, was rescued from a ghost net in Lhaviyani Atoll. She had a deep ligature injury to her front left flipper and was unable to dive – prompting the team to contact our veterinary staff immediately. Nakaiy had entanglement injuries around her neck, mouth, and front left flipper. X-rays of the flipper revealed significant damage and disease, so we immediately began critical care to save it.
Kadhuru, a juvenile olive ridley turtle, was found floating and covered in tar in Noonu Atoll, Maldives in March 2024. When oil or tar covers wildlife such as sea turtles, it can coat their bodies, impair their ability to regulate temperature, hinder movement, and cause serious health issues, including respiratory problems and toxicity from ingestion.
What is the Big Give?
The Big Give is a trust that brings together larger donors with the giving public and the charities who need them. Their match funding campaigns offer a unique opportunity for donors to double their donations and make a greater difference.
When an individual donates to a charity through a Big Give campaign, funders – philanthropists, foundations or corporates – step in to match that donation. So £50 from a member of the public, becomes £100 for a good cause.
