Turtle Hatchlings – Head Start Programme
My final month as a Marine Savers intern has reached its end! During this busy time, with snorkel activities, dolphin cruises and even some night snorkels, the days have been enjoyable and passed by very quickly. (Here is chapter 1, if you missed it).
At the beginning of March, some Kuda Huraa guests found a turtle nest on the beach with eleven baby turtles! They turned out to be Hawksbill hatchlings, ready to begin their adventures in the Indian Ocean, and they were one of the most beautiful things I have seen in the Maldives during my stay.
The whole team gathered in the middle of the night to decide the future of these little cuties! We decided to enrol the four weakest hatchlings into our Head Start Programme, and release the other seven the next morning … which was an incredible experience! Early the next morning, we took our ‘whaler’ (a little motor boat) and headed towards the reef outside the atoll. Just as the sun came up, we were so lucky to encounter a group of dolphins that surrounded us and swam alongside our small boat. With the sunrise as a backdrop, watching the little hatchlings swimming away into the big ocean was a magical and unforgettable experience.
Our Head Start Programme admits and rears the unhealthy and undersized animals from a hatched turtle nest, growing them to 30cm (carapace length) and 4kg in weight, when they will be much more likely to survive in the big ocean. Since they are an endangered species, with this kind of initiative we are trying to help them as much as possible and increase their chances of survival in the wild.
One of the hatchlings is particularly special, having a deformed nose, an uneven carapace pattern and unfortunately one eye missing. We named this tiny hatchling ‘Quasimodo’ and he is the most active hatchling of the group!
Sea Turtles Rescued from Ghost Nets
Another memorable day was when five new turtles arrived all at once to our Centre. There were four Olive Ridleys and one Hawksbill sea turtle, found by a group of fishermen, all floating and entangled in the same ghost net, weakened and dehydrated. Most of the Olive Ridleys had missing flippers, and one even had part of the bone protruding from the amputated front flipper.
When a new injured animal enters our rehabilitation centre, we record information about the stranding event as well as performing a physical exam of the individual. With these five new sea turtles, we followed our standard procedures and provided basic medical care specific to each case. One of the main problems was the lack of room for so many new turtles. Fortunately, as we are in contact with a veterinarian specialising in marine sea turtles, we were able to send her two of the biggest individuals in the group. She also accepted our invitation to visit our rehabilitation centre to examine all our chelonian patients, and it was nice to talk about veterinary medicine and shared medical turtle experiences.
During these months, I have also been carrying out a research project related to the stranding causes in Olive Ridley sea turtles in the central Indian Ocean. With the six-year period of data provided by the Marine Discovery Centre and some scientific bibliography, the most common cause of stranding in Olive Ridleys is entanglement in ghost nets (discarded fishing gear that drifts long distances on oceanic currents). My main goals in this research project are to study the oceanic currents and ghost net distribution in the Indian Ocean, the fishery industry in the southeast of Asia, and the relationship these issues have with the Olive Ridley life cycle. I am learning the way the ocean currents work as well as many interesting facts about marine pollution.
My Final Weeks
During my last weeks in the MDC, I felt very comfortable with the intern duties, and when you like the tasks, the environment and your co-workers, you start to appreciate the small details of the work experience. For instance, the day when some children helped us to feed our rescue sea turtles was so much fun. It was also very interesting to share travel stories with like-minded guests, imparting wanderlust anecdotes to new friends that deserve to be remembered.
During these three months, I have felt very lucky getting to know more of the local people, and being immersed in a new language and culture is always a rewarding experience. Also, being so close to so many amazing and different countries in SE Asia encourages you to look for new adventures.
I want to thank the Marine Savers team and Four Seasons staff for enabling my fantastic stay in the Maldives.
Thank you for reading
Irene xx
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