SPCA frees rescued Olive Ridley turtle

An injured Olive Ridley turtle - an endangered species - was rescued and later released by the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,Thane,recently. With this,at least four instances of these turtles washing ashore have been reported in the past six months.

An injured Olive Ridley turtle – an endangered species – was rescued and later released by the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA),Thane,recently. With this,at least four instances of these turtles washing ashore have been reported in the past six months.

The 70-kg turtle,nicknamed Olio by the SPCA team,was rescued from Vithawa creek in Thane. Olio is the largest Olive Ridley turtle we have ever rescued. We found some bruises on its shoulder and administered medication and dressing, said SPCA (Thane) president Shakuntala Majhumdar. After four days,when the turtle had fully recovered,the team released it at a spot off the Gateway of India in the presence of forest department officials and the police.

Olive Ridley turtles are not an uncommon sight on Mumbai shores. In the past six months ,one such turtle was rescued and rehabilitated at Sanjay Gandhi National Park while two others,both severely mauled and with missing flippers,died despite being treated.

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The injury generally is a result of them being hit by fishing trawlers or grazed by fishing nets. However,we have encountered some bizarre injuries. One of the turtles which came to us in July had only one surviving flipper and with uniform injury marks on the other three stubs. The fact that all injuries were uniform suggests that it was done intentionally, said Dr V M Cheriar,veterinarian,SPCA (Thane). According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),Olive Ridley turtles are commercially exploited for leather and local consumption in some parts of the world.

Another issue,said Majhumdar,is the lack of space to treat wild animals in the city,considering the number of such rescues of different species taking place in the city.

We had to keep Olio in a tank filled with saline water,which we physically transported from the sea,because we had no space on our premises. There is a dire need for the government needs to provide a separate rehabilitation centre in the city to treat wild animals and safely return them to their habitat. Such animals cannot be treated with domesticated ones such as cats and dogs, added Majhumdar.

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