uShaka admits four green turtles in one week
Due to the severity of their situations, two of the green turtles passed away within hours of arrival.
FOUR green turtles, of varying sizes, were taken in by the South African Association for Marine Biological Research (Saambr) at uShaka Sea World in the past seven days alone.
The first of the four was a female adult green turtle, that was soon after named Stella by staff members.
“Stella was found floating upside down in a rock pool at Zinkwazi last Thursday. The Search and Rescue Unit kindly drove her to uShaka Sea World. Although we found no irregularities with her bloods or radiographs, she was positively buoyant and unable to dive,” said Saambr’s senior quarantine aquarist, Malini Pather.
She said the turtle has since settled down, is feeding and the team remains cautiously optimistic that Stella will make a full recovery.
ALSO READ: Ushaka’s African Penguin couple make relationship status official
The second turtle to arrive was a sub adult green turtle, also from Zinkwazi.
“Unfortunately, her prognosis on admission was poor and she succumbed to her illness the next day. We did a full necropsy and are awaiting the final results,” said Pather.
The third is a tiny green turtle that was named Shelley. Estimated to be about two months old, she was found battling the surf at uMhlanga Beach. Judging by her age, the team believe that she is far off from her natural course.
“She has had a tough journey so far as three of her flippers have been bitten,” said Pather.
Her two hind flippers are reportedly still in relatively good condition but the front right flipper is badly damaged and a portion of the bone is missing.
ALSO READ: Observe African Penguin Awareness Day with Saambr
“We are still concerned about the possibility of an infection to the exposed joint and unsure whether she will require surgery. In the meantime, we are doing our best to get her strong and healthy. Thankfully turtles are able to cope well in the wild with amputated limbs,” said Pather.
The fourth turtle, the largest one to be admitted to uShaka Sea World died a few hours after arrival.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
Dear reader, As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za). 
Do you want to receive alerts regarding this and other Highway community news via Telegram? Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5409. You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts. Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.
