Heidi The Flying Turtle
Heidi has finally flown the ‘nest’ – or rather the Rescue Centre! The much awaited moment finally came on the 1st of November, when Heidi flew to the UK, under the supervision of his new caretakers, Emma Whittle and Marcus Williams. After a long flight in a crate specially constructed for him by the engineering team at Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu, followed by a short road journey, Heidi arrived at his new forever home – the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, safe and sound.
Heidi had been with us since April 2018, un-releasable due to one missing and one non-functional front flipper. Considering his situation, the next best thing for Heidi had to be a large aquarium space, where he could swim around happily without the dangers of an open ocean. After long months of labouring over finding the perfect home, and then arranging his transportation, we’re glad be able to say that Heidi will soon be living his best life – with fish friends, in a tank seven times the size of our largest tank at the Rescue Centre! He is currently in a smaller quarantine tank at the aquarium, getting acclimatised to his his new surroundings, but he will soon be moved.
So, if you find yourself in Plymouth, we hope you will visit him, and send us news of our favourite flying turtle!
Released
Uno – Arrived 28 June 2022, Released 30th October 2022
Uno is a juvenile olive ridley turtle that came to us on June 28, 2022 with a deep laceration at his right front flipper. His X-rays revealed a chip fracture at the affected flipper, which eventually healed well after he was placed on a course of antibiotics, anti-fungal, and topical wound care management. Over time, he gradually started using his right front flipper with good range of motion. As he continued to improve, we moved him from a small tank to larger tank space where he could practice using both front flippers. Soon Uno was diving using his flippers symmetrically. When his pre-release X- rays and diagnostics came in clear, the team decided to release him from a boat on Oct 30, 2022. On the day of the release, Uno dived in the blue confidently with excellent use of all flippers.
Resident Patients
Lakia – Arrived 14 September 2022
Lakia’s wounds on all four flippers continue to heal well. However, despite our attempt to save Lakia’s right front flipper, the range of movement at that flipper remains abnormal due to the complete fracture. Since there has been no improvement, and the flipper seems to cause Lakia extreme pain – we are planning to bring him in for assessment, where we will decide on the likelihood of amputation. The good news is that Lakia remains active, his appetite is always good, and he shows an active interest in diving.
Naseeb – Arrived 7 august 2022
We’ve got some great news from Naseeb – his shell has completely healed! He also continues to gain weight, albeit a little slowly. Although Naseeb is diving for food readily and showing good buoyancy control, the movement in his left flipper is still limited due to the discomfort from the bone infection at his left shoulder joint. We’re monitoring him closely and will conduct repeat diagnostics soon.
Fida – Arrived 6 August 2022
Fida has been maintaining good appetite, which is helping her gain weight. She has also made some progress with her diving – she can now dive for food, to the bottom of her tank which is two metres. During her sea swims, Fida’s dives remain shallow. Her slow progress is expected, considering she is diving with only two flippers, which is much harder compared to diving with three or a full set of four flippers. We plan to take her out for more swim sessions to help improve her diving.
Kakuni, Arrived 17 July 2022
Kakuni’s injuries on top of her shell have healed quite well; the ones underneath are healing slowly but we are happy with the progress she is making. Since Kakuni’s appetite is good, we are encouraging her to dive for her food by using a weighted buoy with fish attached to it – but her progress has been slow. Kakuni’s recent blood tests show that she still has an infection, so we are continuing treatment for this and monitoring her closely.
Gus – Arrived 30 May 2022
Gus continues to be active and bright in his tank. His appetite is great and he has gained a little weight over the last few weeks so we have increased his food allowance – he is very happy with this! His bone infection is still present, but it is not getting worse, thanks to the treatment. His most recent blood work has revealed promising results, and considering his excellent diving skills, Gus will most likely be ready for release soon. We’re keeping our fingers crossed!
Leonardo – Arrived 14 February 2022
Leo had become a little quieter with a reduced appetite, most likely due to due to the deterioration of his shoulder joint in his right flipper, so we started him on pain relief. Since then, Leo has become more active and his appetite has returned to normal. However, Leo’s usage of his right front remains limited and inconsistent. To help with this, we have swapped his pain relief to see if this improves his mobility in this flipper. He has also been moved to a larger tank, and the team feeds him in a way that makes him swim around the tank to encourage him to use his front flipper.
Transferred
Pepe – Arrived 13 May 2022, Transferred 2 October 2022
Although Pepe’s diving had improved tremendously, she still required training for overcoming her buoyancy. Therefore, we decided to transfer Pepe to the sea cage at Marine Savers at Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru, early last month. Thankfully, Pepe has settled in comfortably at Marine Savers, she has been eating well and interacting with lots of different enrichments. Most recently, we have received great news from Marine Savers about Pepe – she has started diving in the sea cage! If she continues to dive consistently, she should be ready for release very soon!
