According to underwatertimes.com a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) carrying a satellite tracking tag from Mote Marine Laboratory was rescued on 23 August and brought to the Florida Keys for treatment of serious shark bites.
The 90 kg adult female turtle with an approximately one metre long carapace, nicknamed "Wham," was found by staff at Dry Tortugas National Park, an island cluster west of Key West, and transported to Key West by Fastcat Ferry and then on to The Turtle Hospital in Marathon.
According to Ryan Butts, administrator at The Turtle Hospital, Wham lost 15 cm of her left flipper and her entire right front flipper to a shark bite. "A boat wouldn't have been able to take out the distal end of both flippers," he said. Still, the turtle may return to the wild, he said. "Provided she responds to treatment, she should be fine to be released." Wham is receiving care for her wounds and antibiotics for possible infections.
"She wasn't swimming well - she was limping," said Tony Tucker, manager of Mote's Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program. "Her wounds weren't fresh anymore when she reached Dry Tortugas. We think the shark bit her north of Cuba, because she stopped there. Turtles don't usually stop on the way to their feeding grounds, according to our other satellite tracking maps." The full story you can find here.
Published on: 09/03/2009
Tags: aquatic life, turtle, caretta caretta, rescue, shark
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