Thakuru ‘Taco’ 
male Olive Ridley turtle (RB.LO.116), admitted 7 July 2017, Velidhoo, North Ari Atoll, Maldives
Weight / Length: 26.2kg / 63cm (upon admission); 28.2kg / 63cm (Dec-17); 28.2kg / 63cm (Sept-18); 28.2kg / 63cm (Mar-19);
Thakuru, a male Olive Ridley turtle, was found stranded by Euro Divers on Velidhoo in North Ari Atoll. His head and carapace were covered in a thick layer of algae, indicating entanglement in a ghost fishing net for a long duration. This also resulted in scarring around his neck and the amputation of three of his flippers.
Since admission, Thakuru is slowly getting used to his new surroundings and has developed an appetite for lobster.
August 2017
Thakuru is sharing a pool with Greg and is eating regularly. Although he finds it difficult to dive with missing flippers, he doesn’t seem to be suffering from any floatation problems.
September 2017
Thakuru is sharing a pool with Greg and Stumps. We hope that with some rehabilitation and time he can gain strength and start being more active.
October 2017
Thakuru was transferred to Landaa Giraavaru on 29 October, together with Sweetie and Aavee. We are monitoring closely in case of disease transmissions.
Except for the locations of his amputated front flippers, which were bleeding on the first day, Thakuru seems to be in a good shape. He was sometimes difficult to feed, especially in the mornings, so had to be fed by hand. It took 2 days for him to settle in to his new home and start eating normally. Although he has lost three flippers, Thakuru is very dynamic and interested in food. He is a good candidate for the flying turtle project.
November 2017
Thakuru is very dynamic despite having only one flipper, and is very interested in his food. The injuries are slowly healing.
December 2017
Thakuru is very active and still very interested in his food. His injuries are healing nicely.
January 2018
Thakuru is still very dynamic and interested in food. His injuries on all three stumps are healing well.
March 2018
We have attempted to relocate Thakuru to share the same pool as Chomper, but Thakuru is being very aggressive. We are hoping he will be selected for the new Flying Turtle Programme to be re-housed in a specialist aquarium in Singapore.
![Rescued olive ridley turtle 'Thakuru' [RB.LO.116]](https://marinesavers.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Rescued-olive-ridley-turtle-Thakuru-Marine-Savers-Maldives-RB.LO_.116-2.jpg "Rescued olive ridley turtle 'Thakuru' [RB.LO.116]")
![Rescued olive ridley turtle 'Thakuru' [RB.LO.116]](https://marinesavers.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Rescued-olive-ridley-turtle-Thakuru-Marine-Savers-Maldives-RB.LO_.116-3.jpg "Rescued olive ridley turtle 'Thakuru' [RB.LO.116]")
![Rescued olive ridley turtle 'Thakuru' [RB.LO.116]](https://marinesavers.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Rescued-olive-ridley-turtle-Thakuru-Marine-Savers-Maldives-RB.LO_.116-1.jpg "Rescued olive ridley turtle 'Thakuru' [RB.LO.116]")
September 2018
Thakuru is still very active and interested in food. Out of his three stumps, two are fully healed and the other one is still healing.
March 2019
Tacos stumps are fully healed and he has a voracious appetite. As the water conditions have been very calm recently, we have been able to take him for lots of swims in the ocean. He loves being able to get out into the open water and explore new surroundings!
May 2019
Taco is doing well! We have been taking him out for ocean swims this month. His appetite remains healthy, and we have started feeding him with an environmental enrichment tool. Thus, he can practice his movements, doesn’t get bored and is facing small challenges, instead of being handfed every day.
September
![Taco – Olive Ridley rescue turtle Marine Savers Maldives (10.2019) [1080]](https://marinesavers.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Taco-Olive-Ridley-rescue-turtle-Marine-Savers-Maldives-10.2019-1080.jpg)
October
Over these last few weeks, Taco has been losing a little weight (about 1kg), and as at 30 October he clocks in at 27.1kg. Otherwise, he appears in good health with a normal appetite.
![Taco – Olive Ridley rescue turtle Marine Savers Maldives (10.2019) (2) [1080]](https://marinesavers.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Taco-Olive-Ridley-rescue-turtle-Marine-Savers-Maldives-10.2019-2-1080.jpg)
Updates May 2020
Taco remains buoyant, but he is active and in good spirits, and continues to have a healthy appetite.
Updates June
We’ve adjusted Taco’s diet, and he’s been losing a little excess weight at a healthy rate. He still suffers from sea turtle buoyancy syndrome (floating on the water surface, unable to dive) and we have recently housed him with Frisbee again.
Updates July
Taco remains healthy; he’s now adjusted to his new diet and shows great interest every meal time.
This month, he got to enjoy some fish ‘ice-popsicles’ as a form of enrichment. Changing the way we deliver their food stimulates turtles mentally and physically, contributing to their welfare.
October Updates
Taco interacting with ‘environmental enrichment devices’ (EEDs) or turtle toys, to stimulate curiosity and new activities, as part of our recent experimentation to refine the rehabilitation process.
February 2021
Taco continues to be active and healthy, but needed separating from pool-mate Frisbee due to a biting incident.
April
Taco is now getting along again with Frisbee, and they are both enjoying the different “pool toys” – a variety of environmental enrichment devices.
Taco is becoming picky recently when it comes to fish – he’s no longer eating white meat, but enjoys dark muscles, prawns and squid.
10 June 2021
Sadly, Taco died today. 🙁
He had not been eating for 2 weeks, and despite all our efforts with tube-feeding and medications, we were not able to save him.
The necropsy revealed badly scarred and damaged lungs (from an old pneumonia infection) that was trapping air in dilated spaces. Due to the nature of the scarring, it’s likely that Taco had survived this infection before arriving at our Centre, 4 years ago.
So long, big guy. We’re gonna miss ya. 💚
