Noel

All Turtle Patients

Meet Noel, Our Second Ever Adult Male Turtle Patient

Noel is an adult male Olive Ridley turtle who was found by our friends at Finolhu Resort in Baa Atoll in December 2017.

Intake Date: December 24th 2017
Length: 60 cm
Weight: 23.4 kg
Status: Moved to Juvenile Naifaru 17th June 2018

 

 

Noel was in a sorry state when he arrived. He had severe injuries and deep wounds, and required immediate surgery. His wounds appear to have been caused by a boat strike and shark bites, possibly due to initially being entangled in a ghost net.

Our Vet, Claire, amputated Noel’s (mostly missing) back flipper and stitched his neck with help from our volunteer, Arianna. Noel’s second back flipper was unfortunately also too damaged a to be saved; once he was strong enough for a second surgery, this flipper was also amputated. On Christmas Day Claire treated Noel for a blood-clotting problem.

As a double amputee, Noel has very little chance of surviving in the wild. Furthermore, there is also a long term buoyancy issue, which is not improving at all for now. He has been taken to the ocean for swimming and was actually very active in water. Considering the extent of his injury to left front flipper, there is a very small chance that he will start using it in a way to be able to swim normally.

Noel was moved to Juvenile Naifaru Rescue Centre on June 17th 2018 or continued recovery and to make room for new patients in need of veterinarian care.