Our volunteer at the Rescue Centre Joanne Stournara updates us on the events from 1-31 December 2015.

Turtle news:

Turtles currently being treated: 19

Arrivals

On 29 December 2015, ‘Lemmy’, a barely alive Caretta caretta turtle, was found floating in the shallow water close to shore on a Salamina beach by a group of friends out for an evening run. They immediately notified the local port police, who in turn notified the ARCHELON Rescue Center, and arrangements were made for the immediate transport of the turtle to Glyfada.

When the turtle arrived, he was so dehydrated and decimated that he looked more like a skeleton than a live turtle. His carapace was 75cm long, but he weighed only 40 kilos. He had a carapace injury (which did not appear to be a very recent one) which appears to have been caused by a propeller, and a head injury. His body was covered with algae and barnacles, and he was infested with leeches (including clusters of leech eggs). These conditions indicate that the turtle had been inactive for quite some time, possibly because of his injuries.

Despite the emergency treatment ‘Lemmy’ received, he unfortunately died a short time after his arrival.

Releases

Thanks to the continued spring-like weather, it was possible to release several rehabilitated turtles this month.

‘Liam’, a loggerhead who had arrived on 19 September 2015 from Evia with an ingested hook and a flipper injury, was released on 2 December 2015 by beach.

‘Irini’, a loggerhead who had arrived on 6 July 2015 from Skopelos with a carapace injury, was released on 2 December 2015 by beach.

‘Freddy’ had arrived on 9 Aug 2015 from Salamina with a head injury and an ingested hook. Fortunately, the hook was eliminated by him naturally, and the loggerhead was released on 2 December 2015.

Other news

RC Co-ordinator Pavlo Tsaros will be away for three months. During his absence, Yiannis Xalkias and Polymnia Nestoridou will be ‘holding down the fort’.

Did you know...

Leeches are only one of the common problems faced by sea turtles. For an interesting article which discusses these problems, see http://nmlc.org/2011/07/sea-turtles-part-2-disease-predators-and-conservation/ (The same article has some interesting info and photos about sea turtle hatchlings, too).