“No turtle species breeds on New Zealand beaches, so whenever a marine turtle is discovered washed up on our shores, we know it’s a turtle in trouble,” says Auckland Zoo resident veterinarian Lydia Uddstrom.
Rescued and put on a flight to Auckland by Department of Conservation (DOC) staff, this poorly marine mammal was picked from Auckland airport by Kelly Tarlton’s Sea Life Aquarium staff and brought to Auckland Zoo for emergency treatment.
“Fortunately, despite being weak and dehydrated, low in body weight, and having an amputated front-left flipper, this turtle was remarkably bright and alert. We were able to slowly warm him up (we’re saying ‘him’ for now, but we are still to confirm the sex) to get his body working, and also tube-feed him to help him regain energy and eventually put on condition,” says Lydia.
“It’s been really heartening to see him improve. And while very good that he could poo it out, what was not heartening was discovering a piece of plastic in his faeces - which highlights the worldwide problem of plastic pollution in our marine environments,” adds Lydia.
Auckland Zoo vet centre staff work in collaboration with Kelly Tarlton’s Sea Life Aquarium to treat and rehabilitate sea turtles that usually hail from warmer, tropical waters, but can wash up on our shores if they are weak of suffering from injury or illness.
The zoo’s vet centre acts as an A & E and critical care. It fully assesses, treats and stabilises the turtles. Once well enough, they are relocated to Kelly Tarlton’s where our colleagues there assist them with long-term rehabilitation for (all going well) eventual release back to the wild. The zoo vet team, now the supplier of all veterinary services to Kelly Tarlton’s, continues to assist as required, including doing essential pre-release health checks.
Lydia says exactly how this beautiful Hawksbill lost its front-left flipper will never be known, but explains that it appears to have fully healed and likely happened when it was very young, as its body has curved and adapted to this injury. It also still appears to be able to swim strongly.
“Overseas, there have been cases of turtles with injuries like this being released back to the wild, but we’ll want to be sure it will have a strong chance of survival before any such decision here. One of the things we’ll do to help with this is a CT scan. This will give us a 3-D image of this turtle and enable us to get a good look at its internal organs, and check the structure of its shell and see how it has adapted to not having this flipper,” says Lydia.
Named for its narrow pointed beak, and famous for its stunningly patterned shell, the Hawksbill is found in tropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans - predominantly in coral reefs. It feeds mainly on sponges and plays a vital role in helping maintain the health of coral reefs and sea grass beds.
“These are stunning and really important marine reptiles, but sadly they are now Critically Endangered,” says Lydia.
“Their plight is in large part the result of habitat loss and human impact, including plastic pollution, as well as the illegal harvesting of its shell for the making of jewellery and shell ornaments. We need these turtles in their marine environment, not in a piece of jewellery being sold on the streets!”
Important research
In her role as Auckland Zoo’s resident veterinarian, Lydia is currently undertaking her professional doctorate (through Murdoch University, Perth) the subject of which is sea turtles in New Zealand.
“I’m assessing the pathology of these sea turtles that come to New Zealand - both those that do and do not survive. This will allow us to look at what we should be evaluating to better assess the likelihood of their rehabilitation through to release back to the wild. Understanding the health of marine turtles is critical for the preservation of these endangered species at the individual and population scale, as well as aiding us in early detection of negative change in the broader marine ecosystem,” explains Lydia.
You can help sea turtles
• If you come across a marine turtle on a beach anywhere in New Zealand, contact your local DOC office on 0800 HOT DOC (0800 362 468)
• When travelling overseas, never buy turtle shell jewellery or ornaments
• Get involved: help with a local beach clean-up. Visit www.sustainablecoastlines.co.nz
• Choose wisely: Use reusable eco-shopping bags to reduce your use of plastic and, ideally, say no to plastic.