MOSSEL BAY NEWS - A subadult hawksbill turtle that was rescued from the beach between Great Brak River and Little Brak River on Sunday 28 September is now safely housed at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town.
Val Marsh, a committee member of the Stranded Marine Animal Rescue Team (Smart), said the organisation had received a call from a beachgoer who had spotted a stranded turtle on the shoreline on Sunday.
The Smart team immediately went out to the beach and carefully loaded the turtle into a crate before handing it over to Dr Frans de Graaff, who admitted it to the Hartenbos Animal Hospital.
Once at the hospital, De Graaff stabilised the turtle, and it was transported to the Two Oceans Aquarium on Monday, 29 September. Marsh said she had had feedback from Two Oceans that the turtle was doing well.
The hawksbill turtle is listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List.
According to the Two Oceans Aquarium website, while they do not nest in South Africa, they do enter our waters as strays in search of subtropical feeding grounds.
Marsh thanked the beachgoer, Aschton Hyman, for calling in and alerting the team to the distressed turtle, and the Hartenbos Animal Hospital for stabilising it.
She urged the public to call Smart immediately should they see any stranded turtles or other marine animals, and not to return them to the water as they may be weak and injured. Call Smart on 072 227 4715.
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