So much has been happening at our turtle centre, with many happy farewells and a few new admissions. Poppy, one of our rehabilitated Hawksbill turtles (that I named), was successfully released, followed shortly afterwards by a second, Villingili. Villi had been in the centre for several months after being found malnourished, weak, and with severe jaw problems that prevented her from eating. The whole team put tremendous amounts of effort into her long rehabilitation. Being the one to release Poppy and Villi back into the ocean was an absolute honour … and overwhelmingly awesome! Both were clearly ready for release, as they swam straight down to the deep waters and slowly disappeared from view. Now I am always on the lookout for them when we visit the release area (Makunadhoo) on our snorkel safaris.
We also said goodbye to five of our Head Start green turtles – Tony, Rex, Oscar, Honu and Bodhi. They were released from the beach in front of an enthusiastic crowd of guests. A couple of the turtles ran to the water and swam away immediately, while the others kept trying to come back to the comfort of our Centre! Rex was especially blasé about his release, as he kept washing up on the beach and munching on the seagrass floating just off shore, in no hurry at all. He did eventually leave us, but I imagine he didn’t make it past the house reef since there are plenty of seagrass beds there for him to laze about in.
Irene and I had the job of trying to follow and film Rex and Honu during their release. Rex couldn’t look past the easy meal of seagrass in front of him.
We have also received another adult the size of Sweetie, but this time it’s a male. It’s the first time we could be sure that we actually have a mature male in the Centre because of his long tail. Unfortunately, Beybe (as named by his saviours), was found in a large fishing net that was cutting into his front flippers and neck. It is not clear if he will need an amputation, but he recently stopped using his front flippers to swim. Beybe has since been receiving frequent flipper massages and some physiotherapy to try and encourage movement. Despite his issues, his feistiness has not been impacted. Beybe and Sweetie have been spotted trying to bite each other through the separating fence, however, there is speculation that these may be love bites… ! ❤
Giving Villingili a little pep talk before her release
Our new additions, Boo and Luc, were in pretty bad shape and had suffered abrasions to most areas of their bodies as well as some deep flipper lacerations. It was clear that Boo was in the poorest health as he was 2kg lighter than Luc, despite being the same size. Boo also suffered from more wounds. Unfortunately, Boo was too weak and ill and ultimately succumbed to his injuries. Comparatively, Luc has been showing great improvements, with constant wound care and has a massive appetite. Overall, a bittersweet result for the rescue.
Recently, we have been bracing ourselves for another major coral bleaching event (as witnessed in 2016). Following a hint of paling in the main channel, coral frames are being relocated to the deeper waters of the House Reef to give the frames a fighting chance. It isn’t just the Maldives experiencing the beginnings of a new bleaching event, it is occurring on a global scale, including my homeland on the Great Barrier Reef. The rate of bleaching is unprecedented, and the future of corals worldwide is unclear. Without action against climate change to reduce the rates of ocean warming, so much marine life could be facing a precarious future.
“Swimming with the fishes” has a different meaning in the Maldives…
In order to investigate Drupella feeding preferences, three food options were provided to the snails: healthy coral, diseased coral, and scarred coral fragments. After 24 hours and 48 hours, I then recorded the number of Drupella (out of a total 50 individuals) that were feeding on or taking shelter near each coral type. After five trials, there was no noticeable preference for any coral type. The was also no bias towards coral position (within the system) or number of fragment branches. More trials would be required to minimise variation to determine if the snails exhibit a preference.
The set-up of my experiment: 50 Drupella offered three food options
As I look back at my last three months, I can’t believe how much has happened and how much I have learned. I am so thankful to have had this opportunity and meet the amazing people here at Kuda Huraa. I have definitely made some friends for life, who are from all over the globe and will give me a great ‘excuse’ to travel far and wide in the future! I am also going to miss all the turtles so much, and I will be following their progress very closely!
Bye Maldives, hope to see you again 🙂
Thanks for reading
Hannah
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