‘Ninja’ turtle is on the road to recovery
AFTER floating for days in the sea, tangled in gill netting and attached to a buoy, a green turtle is recovering well at uShaka Sea World in Durban.
Former Zululander Debbie Smith spotted a floating blue container on Friday from her home in Tinley Manor.
“[The container] was moving north at some speed and in an erratic direction,” said Smith.
“I got the binoculars and was sure I saw a flipper.”
Smith said she jumped in her car and raced down to the beach to alert the lifeguards.
“I asked them to please take some boards and go out and investigate the container.
“They discovered it was a green turtle! “Her whole right flipper was wrapped up in gill netting and she had ropes wrapped around, and cutting into her neck, and she had swallowed some of the netting, so her head was attached to her flipper by a short rope.”
The lifeguards swam the turtle onto the beach while Smith alerted uShaka Sea World.
An active member of the KZN Stranding Network, the NSRI Ballito station was called on to assist in transporting the turtle to uShaka Sea World.
Later named Nala, the 130kg, 1.3m-long green turtle received immediate medical care from a full team of veterinarians and turtle specialists from SAAMBR (SA Association of Marine Biological Research).
The netting was cut away, her lesions were cleaned, and blood was taken, which showed no sign of infection.
Recovering well
Speaking to the ZO on Wednesday, lead quarantine aquarist Malini Pather said they were feeling positive as to Nala’s recovery.
“We examined her on Tuesday, and moved her to a much larger pool,” said Pather.
“Her wounds are healing well. She has limited use of her right flipper, but the swelling is going down and there is good blood flow to it, which is a very good sign.”
As of Wednesday, there was still no sign of infection.
Pather said an ultrasound was conducted on Tuesday as they assumed this large green turtle was carrying eggs.
“The ultrasound revealed egg follicles, which are immature eggs, which means we can keep her at uShaka Sea World but will continue to monitor her over the coming weeks,” she said.
Pather explained that, had Nala been carrying eggs, they would have had no choice but to release her back into the ocean straight away, as she would not nest at uShaka.
“This is an incredibly strong and healthy turtle, and she is making good use of the large pool we moved her to,” said Pather.
“She has not yet eaten, but that is no surprise as she is very healthy and strong, and green turtles are opportunistic eaters.”
She said moving Nala was no mean feat, and that it took 10 people to relocate her.
“I am so grateful we got to her in time; she has an excellent chance of a speedy recovery.”