Riveli

Riveli, a juvenile olive ridley sea turtle, was discovered by Amaany while she was on the beach with her family at Gan Island, Laamu Atoll. She noticed a sea turtle struggling in the waves and went to investigate. She found that the sea turtle was missing one front flipper and had a deep cut on one of its hind flippers, most likely caused by ghost net entanglement. Although they attempted to release it back into the sea, the sea turtle was repeatedly washed back ashore.

Amaany then contacted ORP staff member Inaan, who arranged for one of our interns in Laamu Atoll to collect the sea turtle and take her to Six Senses Laamu Resort. Riveli remained there for two nights before being transferred to our Marine Turtle Rescue Centre in Baa Atoll.

Riveli is missing a front flipper and has wounds on her hind flippers, consistent with ghost net entanglement injuries. Blood tests revealed that she is anaemic and has an internal infection. Our veterinary team is now developing a treatment plan and will monitor her progress closely.

12 October 2025
Riveli is making good progress. In her first week with us, she was already able to dive down and rest comfortably at the bottom of the small tank. We then moved her to the medium tank to see how she’d handle more space, and she successfully managed to dive there too! While her movements aren’t quite stable yet and she still spends a lot of time floating at the surface, seeing her make these diving attempts is very encouraging. Her appetite isn’t completely consistent but she’s been eating most of her food during feeding sessions, which shows she’s building strength. Recent blood tests show she’s still fighting an internal infection, so we are continuing her medical treatment while also caring for her external wounds. With the positive steps she’s been taking, we’re hopeful that Riveli will continue to regain her strength and stability in the coming weeks.

9 November 2025
Riveli continues to show us her spirited personality as she playfully interacts with her environmental enrichment device. It looks like a dance and watching her is pure joy! While she’s still on medication and we`re still providing wound care, Riveli is making impressive strides with every dive she takes to grab her food. This month, we introduced Targeted External Weight Therapy to help her improve her diving posture and build her endurance. Despite her challenges, Riveli’s determination shines through, and we couldn’t be prouder of the progress she’s making. We’re here to support her every dive of the way!

7 December 2025
Riveli has adapted exceptionally well to life at our Rescue Centre and is making excellent progress. She’s now able to rest comfortably at the bottom of her tank, which is a huge milestone and shows that her buoyancy is returning to normal. Her appetite remains strong, and she’s confidently diving up and down on her own to catch every piece of food we offer her. Watching her move so naturally through the water is incredibly encouraging! We are continuing her medical therapy and giving her regular check-ups to ensure everything stays on track. Riveli is proving to be one of our success stories in the making, and we couldn’t be more pleased with how far she’s come.

11 January 2026
Over the last month, Riveli has shown another major improvement. Based on her recent blood results, her internal infection has stabilised, allowing us to discontinue her medical therapy. Riveli has become more confident in her diving skills and is now occasionally resting on the bottom of her tank, although she still sometimes surfaces tail-end first. We remain hopeful that she will soon fully regain normal diving behaviour. For now, we’ll continue her Targeted External Weight Therapy, alongside regular medical check-ups to closely monitor her progress.

8 February 2026
After five months of treatment, and following her most recent medical assessment, our veterinary team has confirmed that Riveli is healed, strong and ready to go home! Today we released Riveli from the beach near the house reef on Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu, and proudly watched her swim back home to the ocean where she belongs!

Fun Fact: Riveli (ރިވެލި) means “sparkle” or “glimmer” in Dhivehi, like sunlight catching the waves and creating tiny sparkles on the water.