Asha

female Olive Ridley turtle (RB.LO.207), admitted 9 March 2020, Velifushi, Noonu Atoll, Maldives

Weight / Length: 9.0kg / 43.7cm (on admission);

Asha was spotted floating on the ocean surface, by the dive-boat crew at Soneva Jani resort (Noonu Atoll). She was unable to dive below the water surface, but luckily she did not appear to have any other major injuries.

Asha was admitted to our turtle rescue centre on 9 March, where she was found to be dehydrated and suffering from buoyancy syndrome. She was likely entangled in a ghost net for a period of time, and subsequently managed to free herself.

Upon arrival, Asha was immediately given a freshwater bath, inspected for injuries and cleaned thoroughly. She is already attempting to dive in her pool which is a promising sign, so hopefully she can be released very soon.

April Updates

Asha has shown good health improvements, and soon started to feed from the bottom of her recovery pool (not suffering from turtle buoyancy syndrome).
We have now transferred Asha to one of our larger deeper pools, where she’s perfecting her diving skills. Her wounds are now fully healed, so once she is able to rest comfortably on the bottom of the pool (and remain submerged) she will be ready for release back into the wild.

To speed up her rehabilitation, we have also been taking Asha out into the lagoon for swims in the ocean, where she is making enthusiastic progress.

8th May … Release Day!

After 2 months of care and treatments in our turtle rehabilitation centre, Asha was ready to be returned back to the ocean.

She was released from the beach at Landaa Giraavaru on 8 May, and received a fond farewell by a small group of enthusiastic Four Seasons guests. Bon voyage, and good luck, Asha. 💚