Released
Bruce – Arrived 4 July 2021, Released 24 October 2021
Bruce finally overcame his buoyancy problems! Just hours after his tank mate, Amber, was released, Bruce decided it was his turn to go back into the open ocean and started diving! That same afternoon Bruce was found resting on the bottom of the tank, which meant it was time for him to head to back to the sea where he belongs.
On the day of the release, Bruce was a little stressed from the boat journey but once the entered the water we gave him some time to relax, catch his breath and practice a few dives and he finally disappeared into the deep blue. The release footage is available on our social media channels if you haven’t already seen it. We wish you the best of luck, Bruce!
The Resident Patients
Tibby – Arrived 26 July 2021
Tibby is doing really well. She is no longer on any medication or wound care and she is steadily gaining weight, thanks to her great appetite. Tibby’s manoeuvrability is still an issue, however. She has been moved to the large tank so she can practice her swimming and diving and we will be taking her out in the sea this coming week to assess how she’s getting on. Tibby will soon be transferred to our rehabilitation centre in North Male for one-to-one care with our biologist, Joe, where she will go on regular sea swims in the lagoon to build her strength.
Xena – Arrived 1 November 2020
Xena is eating very well and is enjoying a variety of fish now, not just tuna belly! She has reached nearly 20kg which is great; when she arrived this time last year, she was only 13.2kg and completely emaciated. Unfortunately, her buoyancy issues haven’t changed, and she is a little subdued most of the time. Xena is struggling long term from chronic bone infections, but her x-rays are stable for now – we are regularly reassessing and monitoring her. She did become very active when put in the same tank with Tibby and made it her life’s mission to try and bite her – we’re glad to see that she still has some feistiness in her!
Discovery – Arrived 7th February 2020
Disco has been having slightly off days this month, sometimes having a great appetite and other times a little off her food. This isn’t necessarily unusual for her though so we will keep a close eye and try some of her favourite foods. She has had a repeat blood sample to ensure she isn’t showing any brewing signs of infection, and all looks good for now.
Azura – Arrived 2nd April 2019
Azura has been putting in a great performance diving in both her tank for her food off the buoy, and also out in the sea. We weren’t sure if this day would come but we think it won’t be long before we can let her go! We are so proud of her; it has taken a long time and she has battled all sorts over the last 2 years and 6 months, including multiple surgeries on her nose and her flipper, buoyancy syndrome, and chronic elbow infections.
She still struggles a bit with her breathing as she exerts herself a lot to get under, meaning she runs out of breath sooner than she should, but this should improve as we keep practicing. She is gradually showing more ease in her diving and able to get to greater depths for longer, so we are getting there! She had an x-ray this week on her elbow to confirm nothing has changed since she completed her various courses of medication some months back now, and thankfully everything is looking good
Heidi – Arrived 21st April 2018
Heidi has been in good spirits this month. He has been on sea swims, which he seemed to enjoy, browsing the reef and the sandy bottom. We have contacted an aquarium that is interested in going further with Heidi! We are still in the discussion phase at the moment, but things sound promising!
