Amie

female Olive Ridley turtle (RB.LO.221), admitted 10 April 2021, Mudhdhoo, Baa Atoll, Maldives

Weight / Length: 5.6kg / 33.3cm (on admittance);

Amie, a juvenile Olive Ridley sea turtle, was found on excursion close to the island of Mudhdhoo (Dusit Thani, Maldives) in Baa Atoll. Sadly, being found entangled in a rice bag, she is yet another victim of plastic pollution in the oceans.

Amie was covered in a thick layer of algae, suggesting she’s been trapped floating on the ocean surface for a number of weeks. She arrived at our Turtle Rescue Centre (Landaa Giraavaru) with mild dehydration and deep lacerations around her front flippers, where the bag fibres had been cutting her skin.

Amie will receive a course of antibiotics and daily wound care to prevent any infections. Thankfully, she is full of energy and is already using all her flippers to dive and rest comfortably at the bottom of the tank.

We are hoping for a quick recovery so she can return to the Big Blue!

Updates

On admittance, we had removed some rice bag fibres from Amie’s mouth, and during the following days, she passed more than ten pieces of plastic in her faeces (thankfully, without any  apparent complications).

Amie completed her course of antibiotics, and following daily wound care we were pleased to see all of her wounds healing successfully.

We are please to see that Amie is no longer passing any plastics; she is eating and defecating normally, and is able to rest comfortably on the bottom of the pool (so not suffering from buoyancy syndrome).

3 May … Release Day!

Amie was full of energy each day … eating, swimming, diving and resting comfortably at the bottom of the recovery pool, meaning she was ready to go back to the ocean! She was released from the beach in front of our Turtle Rescue Centre, and received a fond farewell by a  small group of excited guests and staff. Good luck little one! 💙