Injured olive Ridley Turtle

Olive Ridley turtles were rescued at the Besant Memorial Animal Gentersary in Chennai on Saturday. |Photo source: Akhila Easwaran

A olive Reilly Sea turtle washed off the Chennai coast is being mended due to excellent rescue and rehabilitation efforts from the Tamil Nadu Forest Department.

The turtle missed its legs and suffered a serious injury to the hind legs, which could hardly move when it was discovered. However, after weeks of care, encouraging signs of recovery are now shown.

Manish Meena, the Chennai Wildlife Warden, explained: “Our team found the turtle in Uthandi on April 7. It was injured but still alive, so we consulted with the main Wildlife Warden and decided to ship it to the Besant Memorial Animal Aggensary for treatment. Two of our veterinarians worked in the case.”

The turtle is also severely dehydrated. After initial care, including giving adequate moisture, the BMAD team continued to conduct the assessment. Shravan Krishnan from BMAD said they didn't understand why the turtle didn't eat and were reflecting on the feed.

Then, led by K. Sridhar, a surgeon from the Vandalur Arignar Anna Zoo conducted an oral examination and found the tip of the shiny metal object. After sedation, they evaluated and found that a fishing hook had been hung in the pharynx.

“We retrieved the object. It turned out to be a blind man, and luckily there was no additional line,” Dr. Sridhar said. The tortoise was then taken to Tamil Nadu Animal Veterinary Science (Tanuvas) for CT scans and endoscopy to ensure there are no residues from foreign objects.

Then, the open crack in the right leg bend was also treated. For sea turtles, front fins are important because they can help animals dive. However, because the turtle loses its foot fins, it may float on the surface, and when the hook is baited by bait, the turtle will ingest it, and the turtle will ingest it.

Rakesh Kumar Dogra, chief wildlife warden, said that while sea turtles face many threats in the ocean, it is crucial to minimize human-induced turtle deaths.

Veterinary and forest department officials stressed that fishing should be carried out with caution during the turtle nesting season from December to May each year.