Annie the turtle in all set to be released back into the wild after she was rescued by the NSRI and rehabilitated by the Two Oceans Aquarium.
Cape Town, South Africa (08 September 2020) – It was a chilly Wednesday morning, on the 31st of July 2019, when the Two Oceans Aquarium’s turtle rehabilitation centre received Annette aka Annie.
Annie, a 52 kg loggerhead turtle arrived alongside a seal; both had been found stranded on Noordhoek beach. They were entangled in ghost fishing gear which is the term for fishing line that has been left in the ocean. The fishing line entangles ocean life, trapping them without the chance of being pulled up by a fisherman.
NSRI Station 26 (pictured above) carefully freed Annie and the seal. Since Annie the turtle was rescued, the Two Oceans Aquarium have fought hard for her survival. It became clear that her entanglement wasn’t her only problem.
“Whilst her stranding was directly linked to the fishing gear she was caught up in, it most certainly was not the only battle she was fighting. Initial blood tests and a very strange floating posture hinted that there was a lot more going on underneath Annie’s shell.
Over the following four months we were detectives, trying to get to the bottom of what was ailing Annie. We did two x-ray contrast studies, many ultrasounds, consulted with specialists, took her for an endoscope and then a CT scan. None of these left us any the wiser.
All the while Annie had not started eating or pooping and was rapidly getting weaker and losing weight. Floating bum up in a rehabilitation pool, she would spend her days being gently pushed around by the current of the tank. To help keep her alive, we would take her out on alternate days, inject her with lots of fluids and tube feed her with antibiotics, gut stimulants, vitamins and nutrient-rich food. We also tried to place a feeding tube into Annie, something that would allow us to inject food without having to constantly reinsert a tube, but she regurgitated this after a few days.”
By the end of November 2019, Annie had reached her lowest weight, weighing only 46 kg and as a rehab team we only had one more idea regarding what might possibly help: space to swim. This would hopefully help with getting her gut moving and to allow her to move her flippers and dive. On 27 November we moved Annie into the I&J Ocean Exhibit, hoping that this would make her feel more like a turtle. She did so well in this space! She dived, swam, explored and rested (even though this was still bum up) and, 10 days after being in a bigger space, Annie ate her first piece of food.
She was investigating one of the divers during a weekend feed and in return was offered a piece of squid. Just one week later Annie made her first poo, a really positive sign that her gut was indeed starting to properly function.”
The team have lovingly nicknamed Annie “bubble butt” because of her floating bottom. They were concerned about her buoyancy but feel that another CT scan will address this final problem. It is now time for the team to start planning Annie’s release. They need a helping hand to make that a reality.
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“Annie survived being caught in a giant fishing net. Annie survived because a member of the public called for help when she saw this big net washed up on the beach with a seal and a sea turtle trapped inside.
Annie survived because the National Sea Rescue Institute rushed there to help her and the seal. Annie survived because of the incredible around the clock care by the turtle rehabilitation team at the Aquarium Foundation.
Annie survived because everybody cared.”“To get her release ready we need to take her for a final CT scan just to make sure her ‘bubble but buoyancy’ won’t be a problem. We need to keep supplying her with her favourite snack, squid, to build up more strength for all the swimming ahead. We need to take her 30 nautical miles offshore for release into the lovely temperate current, and that requires quite a lot of fuel. We also need some additional turtle stretchers to share with the NSRI who so often helps saving marine animals. Let’s get Annie home. #Anniegoeshome”
The first 10 donations over R1000 will each be gifted with one of the Two Oceans Aquarium’s amazing turtle rescue supporter hoodies. You can donate to Annie’s release here: https://www.givengain.com/cc/get-annie-the-turtle-hom/ They hope to get Annie back home this summer so are aiming to raise R25,000 by the 30th of September.
The Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation is a registered non-profit and public benefit organization. Qualifying donations can be issued with a S18A certificate. Visit www.aquariumfoundation.org.za to view more of our impactful programmes.
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