Turtle Patient 220: Kurangi, Juvenile Olive Ridley
Kurangi was found entangled in a ghost net by the staff at Fairmont Maldives – Sirru Fen Fushi in Shaviyani Atoll
The Vitals
Admission Date: 29 August 2023
Patient Number: 220
Rescue Location: Shaviyani Atoll
Reason: Found entangled
Transport Method: Speedboat & seaplanes
Status: Current patient
Species: Olive ridley
Scientific Name: Lepidochelys olivacea
Sex: Unknown
Age: Juvenile
Length: 54.3 cm
Weight: 13.9 kg
The Adoptive Parents
Kurangi has been kindly adopted by Laura Hiscock, Vincent Macaluso, Rachael & Ross, Ryan, Juergen Schrader, by Charlotte Stachel for Vreni, Romy Schaffner, Christine Schulthess, Gary Pincombe, Alexander Kassner, by Hether for Rick & Jeff, Samantha Hallman, Abbey Corrigan, by Brandon for Evelyn, Christoph & Irina, Dagmar & Milan, Alyssa Varty, Lisa Kuex, Lydia Dysert, Anja, for Ryker, Luc Hardy and by Jenika.
Kurangi’s Story
Kurangi, which is the Dhivehi word for the lesser noddy (a seabird), is a juvenile olive ridley. She was found entangled in a ghost net by the staff at Fairmont Maldives – Sirru Fen Fushi where, fortunately, we have our sea turtle biologists, Neus, based. Neus guide the rescue and called the veterinary team for assistance. After a couple of seaplanes and speedboat rides, Kurangi finally arrived at the Rescue Centre.
Both her front flippers had been entangled. Unfortunately, the left one was so severely injured it required amputation. Kurangi also has several abrasions over her head and carapace due to prolonged exposure to debris during entanglement. Her blood work revealed she is anaemic and has an infection, so the veterinary team is monitoring her closely and treating her accordingly.
Kurangi recovered well from her surgery but is staying in our ICU tank for now. She has been eating really well and is feeling much more comfortable.
10 October 2023
Kurangi recovered very well from her second wound debridement surgery. Her wounds are healing nicely and she is showing tremendous improvement since her arrival. We have started her on Targeted External Weight Therapy along with dive training, where we attach buoys to her food. She made such quick progress that we had to increase the depth of the buoys to encourage her to dive deeper. She continues to have a good appetite and is very food motivated. Her blood work too is slowly improving, but as she is still anaemic and fighting infection, the veterinary team will continue to monitor her closely.
14 November 2023
Kurangi’s amputation site is now healed and her right front flipper’s ligature injury too is getting there. We continue to provide cold laser therapy to promote healing as well as pain relief. She is a very active turtle and although she is still unable to fully submerge herself and dive, she is showing good progress. Kurangi is receiving a combination of Targeted External Weight Therapy and dive training using buoys to lower her food in the water column. Kurangi’s blood samples too have shown improvement and she is no longer anaemic! We are monitoring her closely to ensure that her infection comes under control, but overall, we have been very happy with her progress this past month.
12 December 2023
Kurangi is very food motivated. This is helping us challenge her further during her dive training by lowering the buoys attached to her food. She continues to be on Targeted External Weight Therapy. Her blood work is progressing well and we are discontinuing some of her medical therapy. We are keeping a close watch on her to ensure that her infection does not reappear. All her wounds have now fully healed and her cheeky personality continues to enamour everyone who visits her.
8 January 2024
We continue to challenge Kurangi through dive training. The past month presented setbacks due to numerous storms, causing her added stress. However, she has been gradually overcoming these obstacles. Our approach involves the application of Targeted External Weight Therapy along with buoy feeding sessions. Despite some setbacks due to numerous storms causing her added stress in the past month, Kurangi remains one of our most active patients, exhibiting a constant curiosity and keen observation of her surroundings.
11 February 2024
Kurangi has been excelling in all her feeding sessions, and we continue to challenge her diving skills by gradually reducing the submersible buoy length. Fortunately, she boasts the most voracious appetite among all our patients. It’s worth noting that Kurangi has been off all medical therapy for a couple of weeks now and continues to remain stable.
12 March 2024
Kurangi is thriving, demonstrating significant improvement in her dive training. Her determination during buoy feeding enables her to conquer each new challenge set by the team. We are continuing her Targeted External Weight Therapy as part of her ongoing dive training, which we will adjust as she progresses.
7 April 2024
Kurangi is excelling in her dive training, showing remarkable progress with each session. Her determination during buoy feeding sessions enables her to conquer every new challenge presented by the team. Recently, Kurangi achieved a remarkable milestone by successfully diving all the way to the bottom of the tank and feeding from there. Now, our focus shifts to refining Kurangi’s Targeted External Weight Therapy, with the ultimate goal of enabling her to dive effortlessly without it.
Adopt Kurangi
When you symbolically adopt one of our turtle patients you will receive:
- A personalised adoption certificate with the history of your adopted turtle patient
- A fact sheet about the species of sea turtle
- Updates on how your adopted turtle’s recovery is going (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.
