Turtle Patient 237: Avi, Adult Female Olive Ridley
Avi, an adult female olive ridley, was discovered floating and unable to dive by the staff at our partner resort, Soneva Jani in Noonu Atoll.
The Vitals
Admission Date: 28 February 2024
Patient Number: 237
Rescue Location: Noonu Atoll
Reason: Found Floating
Transport Method: Speedboat
Status: Current patient
Species: Olive ridley
Scientific Name: Lepidochelys olivacea
Sex: Female
Age: Adult
Length: 64.2 cm
Weight: 22 kg
The Adoptive Parents
Avi has been kindly adopted by Steven & Debbie Rogers and by Sue Webster for Sophie Flatt.
Avi’s Story
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.
Adopt Avi
When you symbolically adopt one of our turtle patients you will receive:
- A personalised digital adoption certificate with the history of your adopted turtle patient
- A fact sheet about the species of sea turtle you have adopted
- Updates on how your adopted turtle’s recovery is going (if you wish)
- Your name featured on our website (if you wish)
- Notification in the case of a release
We ask for a minimum one time gift donation of £50 to adopt a turtle patient. £50 will contribute to the cost of medical therapy for one patient for two weeks. You can also choose to make a monthly donation of your choice.
Once we receive confirmation of the donation and your adoption form (please make sure the names on the donation and adoption forms match), we will issue the adoption certificate with details about the turtle patient to you or the gift recipient. Please allow 7 days for the issuing of the certificate.
By adopting one of our turtle patients, you will contribute towards the cost of our patients’ veterinary care, medications, and transport. You will also help fund our core charitable objectives to protect sea turtles and their habitats through rescue and rehabilitation, scientific research, and education and outreach.
