Kurangi’s Story

How Kurangi was found

Kurangi is a juvenile olive ridley turtle who was found with both front flippers entangled in a ghost net by the staff at Sirru Fen Fushi in Shaviyani Atoll, Maldives in August 2023. Neus, our sea turtle biologist based at Sirru Fen Fushi at the time, guided the rescue efforts and promptly contacted our veterinary team. After several seaplane and speedboat transfers, Kurangi arrived at the Marine Turtle Rescue Centre in Baa Atoll.

Kurangi’s treatment and therapy

Sadly, Kurangi not only suffered wounds to her head and carapace, but her left front flipper was so severely injured it required amputation. Blood tests revealed she was anaemic and battling an infection. Kurangi underwent surgery to amputate her flipper and deep clean her wounds. She recovered well, with her wounds treated using cold laser therapy to promote healing and alleviate pain. Over time, her condition improved and she recovered from anaemia.

However, Kurangi faced another significant hurdle: buoyancy syndrome – air trapped in the body that prevents turtles from being able to dive underwater. Since diving for food and rest is vital for a sea turtle’s survival in the wild, this was a major concern. To help her regain full diving ability, we started Kurangi on dive training at mealtimes and Targeted External Weight Therapy.

How Kurangi is doing

Despite the severity of her condition, Kurangi showed remarkable resilience. Her diving ability gradually improved, and after five months, she was finally able to reach the bottom of her tank – when motivated by food. A month later, she could swim down to get food off the tank floor. Once she was off all medications we transferred her to our newly opened Raa Atoll Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Centre at JOALI BEING, in May 2024.

There Kurangi had a much larger enclosure, which we could use to tailor her dive training to her needs. Initially, she took time to acclimatise, but soon began resting at the bottom of her tank – a key milestone in her recovery. Fourteen months after her rescue, Kurangi had achieved full buoyancy control. In the presence of JOALI BEING guests and team members, she was released from the beach – free once again in the vast blue sea she calls home.