Sizing up sea turtle

Valuable data gathered from dead leatherback: wildlife pathologist

“These guys are an endangered species in Canada. So we really want to learn everything we can.” Wildlife pathologist Dr. Megan Jones

Wildlife pathologist Dr. Megan Jones says the massive leatherback sea turtle that washed ashore on a beach in Argyle Shore last Friday is proving to be a valuable specimen.

Jones says since the animal was well-preserved, it is providing a “unique opportunity” to look closely at its anatomy. “These guys are an endangered species in Canada,” says Jones, regional director of the Canadian Wildlife Health Co-operative with the Atlantic Canada region at the AVC in Charlottetown. “So we really want to learn everything we can.”

Roughly a dozen veterinarian students were able to observe part of the four-hour necropsy performed Monday, which gave them a good look inside the turtle. The necropsy was done to determine the cause of death and to gather useful information on the leatherback.

Jones says no definitive cause of death has been determined yet, but further tests will take place in the coming weeks including analysis of different tissues to look for possible disease.

“It’s a multi-step process,” she says. “Sometimes we don’t find a definitive cause of death.” The turtle’s body was in good condition with no evidence of emaciation. Jones notes there is no evidence of trauma, meaning the turtle likely was not struck by a boat or entangled in a net. Jones says the animal was likely dead for at least one week. Numerous measurements were taken to provide important data to the Canadian Sea Turtle Network and to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

The deceased turtle is female, measuring two meters long and with a shell length of 1.5 metres. It weighed 462 kilograms and is estimated to be about 20 years old.

Jones lauded the work of province’s Forests, Fish and Wildlife division in getting the sea turtle to the Canadian Wildlife Health Co-operative.

The large animal was floated along the beach to an area where a crane was able to haul it up a steep embankment and place it on a trailer. The process took two to three hours.

“They went beyond to get this turtle to us,” says Jones.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Wildlife technician Darlene Weeks, left, photographs a leatherback turtle while Dr. Laura Bourque, a wildlife pathologist with the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperatives’s Atlantic node located at AVC, conducts an external examination of the animal. The turtle was found dead Friday on a beach in Argyle Shore.