TURTLE SWAPS MALDIVES FOR BONNIE BANKS
Injured creature’s new home at sea life centre
A SEA turtle has a new home in Scotland after being found injured tangled in a plastic bag in the Maldives.
April, an olive ridley sea turtle, was in care at the Turtle Rehabilitation Centre at the Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru after being found injured in Raa Atoll in April 2019.
When she was found, she was floating on the ocean surface tangled in netting with a plastic bag around her neck.
She was already missing her right front flipper because of the netting and her left front flipper was injured by the friction caused by the plastic bag.
An X-ray later revealed she was also suffering from a lung infection, with possible tears in her lungs.
Vets found April could not fully immerse herself in the water – which meant a return to the wild was not an option.
That led to the turtle being moved 5000 miles to Loch Lomond, making her the first olive ridley sea turtle in the UK.
Two Maldives environmental agencies, Reefscapers And Marine Savers, as well as the UK’s Sea Life aquarium business and its conservation charity the Sea Life Trust, teamed up with IAG Cargo to fly April to the UK.
Kathryn Angel, Sea Life Loch Lomond’s general manager, said: “We are thrilled to welcome April to the Loch Lomond family. She has settled in brilliantly. To have a turtle in our facility once again is a real pleasure.
“April suffered injuries as a result of plastic pollution, so by having April on site at Sea Life Loch Lomond children can actually see the impact plastic pollution can have on the creatures first hand.”
Andy Torbet, Sea Life Trust ambassador, said: “Being rehomed to the Sea Life Centre is great for April, it’s going to give her the best quality of life she can have for the remainder of her life.
“She’ll be a great ambassador, not only for marine life and sea turtles but because of her injuries, which were obvious, she’ll act as an ambassador for the idea of plastic pollution and ghost netting being an issue, and why we need to do something about that.
“When you see an injured turtle up close and personal with injuries caused by ghost nets and plastic pollution, that sort of issue is driven home a lot more intensely.”