Rare turtle find ends in tragedy
PLETTENBERG BAY - Despite swift action by locals and conservationists, an uncommon visitor to Plett, an olive ridley turtle, did not pull through after it washed up on Central Beach last week.
The turtle was found by passers-by on the beach last Thursday, 3 November, and the Plett Marine Animal Stranding Network was activated immediately. The team rescued the turtle from the beach and handed it over to the Robberg Veterinary Clinic for medical help, before it was transported to the Two Oceans Aquarium. The turtle's trip to Cape Town, where an expert team would have done rehabilitation work before releasing it into the wild, was handled by CemAir.
"Sadly, the turtle passed away this morning," said Two Oceans Aquarium conservation and sustainability manager Helen Lockhart on Tuesday 7 November. The team was not sure what the cause of death was. "We will have to wait for post mortem results," Lockhart said.
Of the five species of sea turtles recorded in South African waters, the olive ridley is considered the rarest as it is hardly spotted in the area. Olive ridleys occur through the Antilles, around the north coast of South America, in West Africa, the Indian Ocean, Australia and South-East Asia.
Certain populations of olive ridleys are listed as threatened and endangered, and the sea turtle is internationally listed as vulnerable.
Threats include harvesting for skin and meat, accidental capture in fishing nets, and marine pollution. Nesting also occurs at low frequency throughout much of its range, with the highest concentrations of the olive ridley found on the coast of Orissa state, India.
It is named after its generally greenish skin colour and shell. They also count among the smallest of the sea turtles, reaching a maximum weight of 50kg.