Loggerhead turtle receives medical treatment
The South African Association for Marine Biological Research (Saambr) said she was given antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, wound care and a name.
As families and friends all over the world were preparing for New Year’s Eve festivities, a large adult loggerhead turtle was admitted into the care of the uShaka Sea World Turtle Rehabilitation staff.
She had suffered multiple injuries to her head and clearly needed medical attention, so the kind and caring staff from iSimangaliso Wetland Park made the three-hour journey from Bhanga Nek to uShaka Sea World.
Apart from her injuries, she appeared to be in good condition and the decision was made to perform immediate diagnostics to ascertain the severity of her injuries.
Tests included the collection of blood, radiographs and an ultrasound.
Her radiographs showed multiple fractures of her cranium, but thankfully, no vital organs were affected.
The South African Association for Marine Biological Research (Saambr) said she was given antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, wound care and a name.
“On the ultrasound, we could see that she had many clutches of eggs which she needs to lay this summer. We called her Delena as it was the closest we could come to a female version of the name of her initial rescuer, Dylan van Deventer. Most remarkable is that Delena has tags on both of her front flippers and a notch on her carapace which was made within a few hours of her hatching on the beach at Banga Nek approximately 50 years ago. Banga Nek is located within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park just north of Sodwana Bay on the KZN North Coast. We are currently researching information about her particular notch and tags which will give us accurate information about her age and nesting habits. South Africa’s sea turtle monitoring programme which was initiated in 1963, is one of the longest sea turtle monitoring programmes in the world,” said Saambr.
uShaka Sea World clinical veterinarian, Dr Caryl Knox, said: “Despite her injuries, Delena’s shown enormous strength, resilience and determination from day one. She is making good progress and can swim strongly around her recovery pool. We will continue to offer her supportive care to ensure the fracture sites start healing as quickly as possible to avoid infection. We are planning to release her soon so that she can lay her eggs on the same beach where she hatched all those years ago,” adding that they will share the information from their research into her tags and notch within the next few days.
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