Xena 

juvenile Olive Ridley turtle (RB.LO.119), admitted 07 August 2017, Furaveri Island, Raa Atoll, Maldives

Weight: 11.2kg (upon admission); 13.1kg (28 December 2017);
Length: 45.2cm (upon admission); 45.5cm (28 December 2017);

Xena, a juvenile Olive Ridley turtle, was found floating in the ocean near Furaveri Island, and rescued by team members from the resort.
She is missing the front left flipper, but this injury has healed very well over time. The main issue she is facing now is buoyancy syndrome and we are hoping she will recover from it quickly. We are therefore encouraging her to dive at the bottom of her pool to get her food.
Xena will remain under our care until she fully recovers.

August 2017
Xena took a few days to start feeding but has now a good appetite. She continues to suffer from buoyancy syndrome (floating at the water surface) and cannot dive.

September 2017
Xena’s wound has healed very quickly and cleanly, so she will be eligible to be released once her diving has improved. Although she remains quite buoyant at times, she has been spotted resting on the bottom of the pool and is now able to be fed whilst submerged. She is very motivated by food so should be eligible for release after a few more weeks of diving practice.

October 2017
Xena has been making good progress this month. We spotted her resting at the bottom of the pool on several occasions, and she has
almost overcome her floating syndrome, increasingly diving for longer periods during feeding times to get her food at the bottom of the pool. She probably will be the next candidate to be released with a satellite tracking device on her shell, for tracking her journey out into the wild.

November 2017
Xena’s condition seems to vary; she can dive and rest on the bottom for extended periods of time, but occasionally, after she gets stressed (weekly measurements, pool transfer) her floatability seems to increase. When left alone and without intervention she seems to be perfectly able to swim and dive. When feeding, she can collect all the food from the bottom of the pool, and benefits from being in a larger pool where she does not have dive steeply downwards. All these considerations made us consider that she might be ready for release any time soon.

12 January 2018
Xena had showed big improvements in her diving abilities, so she was released back into the ocean from Landaa Giravaaru beach, quickly swimming away into the blue.