Taakey

large male Olive Ridley turtle (RB.LO.191), admitted January 2020, Landaa Giraavaru, Baa Atoll, Maldives

Weight / Length: 26.0kg / 60.5cm (on admission);

Taakey was found entangled in a large mass of marine debris and ghost netting (along with Arielle), floating on the ocean currents close to Parrot Reef, here at Landaa Giraavaru.

It is always a very moving experience to find stranded Olive Ridley turtles, entangled in drifting ghost nets like this. And finding multiple turtles in a single net is all the more saddening. Back in April 2015, we found an incredible seven turtles trapped in a single ghost net, and similar encounters in the Maldives have been documented by our colleagues at Prodivers (2017) and the ORP (2014). These are regular reminders of just how damaging the ghost nets can be to marine wildlife and to Olive Ridley turtles in particular.

Taakey was admitted to our turtle rescue centre, and was found to have superficial lacerations and abrasions on the shell. After 3 days of rehabilitation and re-hydration in our turtle recovery pools, Taakey was transferred to our lagoon enclosure for final observations. He spent the morning swimming and diving, before being released back into the ocean.

We were very pleased to have found Taakey in good time, and it was a happy occasion to be able to release him back to the ocean after such a short rehabilitation.