Turtle tales...

The past few weeks have been chock-a-block full of turtle shennanigans.  After the two turtles I mentioned a few posts ago (alive hawksbill, dead leatherback), it has just kept on going...

Last week we received a new patient from a local barangay- a young hawksbill that had been accidentally hooked by a local fishermen.  The poor turtle had swallowed the hook and it was now embedded.  To determine where the hook had ended up inside, we managed to convince the local hospital to let us use their x ray machine after hours.  All the nurses were quite intrigued by the unusual late-night patient.

Sneaking the turtle into the hospital

Hooked

Hawksbill patient

The x-ray confirmed the hook was in the stomach.  Ale (who is a vet) decided to attempt removal.  We sedated the little guy and inserted a tube down the turtle's throat in hopes of dislodging the hook and then pulling it up through the tube (so it would not scratch or re-embed as it came up).  Unfortunately, the hook was too deep and there isn't access to scopes or other important equipment here.  Surgery was deemed too risky, so we opted to leave the hook in and have been administering antibiotics.  The turtle is feeding hardily, which is a good sign.  There is evidence that turtles can live with hooks inside, and we hope this little guy can too.  I know we all wish we could do more, but unfortunately the circumstances just aren't ideal.  Ale has dreams of opening a turtle hospital here in Bohol to properly deal with these situations, which after the past few weeks, seems like a wonderful idea.

Anesthetized turtle

You can see the fishing line coming out of his/her beak

Later that weekend, we had a chance to let go four young hawksbills up in Anda.  These little guys had been kept by a well-meaning, but mis-informed community for almost a year.  The local community believed that hatchlings were eaten by adult turtles, so were 'head-starting' them in a small concrete pool.  Only four had survived the whole ordeal (which included being fed cookies sometimes).  Tch and I did some outreach up there a month or so ago, and upon learning about turtle biology, agreed to let them go.  We provided money for the caretaker to feed them a high-quality diet for the month to bulk them up and Sunday was their release.  They were all weighed and measured prior to release and we invited the community and mayor.  Later that evening we screened a turtle movie at the nearby beach.  Anda has one of the few confirmed nesting beaches for hawksbills in Bohol, which makes it a pretty special place.

Getting ready to go!

About to get weighed

Measuring the plastron

Local kids say goodbye pre-release

Tch hands out turtle activity sheets to kids

Four ready to go!

Our snazzy new sign

We also received another patient this week, a small green turtle.  Unfortunately, he/she was totally lethargic and didn't make it.  It was promising that some local fishers had collected the turtle and called us, however they also drilled a hole in it's shell to tied a rope on it.  <sigh> Still a lot of outreach to do.  No confirmed cause of death yet, though it will be interesting to see if this animal has any plastic in it's stomach.  There is plastic everywhere in the water and it breaks my heart.  Not that it is a problem specific to the Philippines, plastic debris is a significant global marine issue and a major killer of marine wildlife.

On a peppier note, I am writing this post by candlelight, with my toes in the sand, and the water a few meters away, while contemplating the cold beer I am going to have.  Just had a lovely, relaxing day off in Panglao.  It was my last chance to get a few dives in here before I leave.  I know, CRAZY, but I will be back in Vancouver in less than three weeks.  I am in the place I often get to as a trip winds down: 1/3 panicked thinking of all the stuff I still want to do here before I go, 1/3 devestated to leave a beautiful, inspiring place, and 1/3 excited to get home and use all my new-found inspiration, wrap my arms around my loved ones and have the best summer of my life....