By Alistair Gray
I had heard about ‘Stevie’, the green sea turtle rescued at Beachmere.Little did I know I was about to see Stevie for myself at the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital.
I had learnt how a young girl named Stevie had seen something in the water and gone to investigate. To her dismay she found two giant sea turtles tangled in the rope from a large crab pot. Sadly, one of the turtles had already died from the rope being twisted around its neck. Luckily the other turtle was still alive. A quick call was made to the Wildlife Rescue hotline and within 20 minutes a team of rescuers were onsite working out the best way to save the injured turtle, who was quickly protected from the sun and kept wet. Unfortunately, the turtle (now named Stevie after the young girl who found him) had sustained a severe flipper injury, so the team had to act quickly to get Stevie to the Wildlife Hospital for treatment.
I was unexpectedly invited at short notice to join a tour of the Wildlife Hospital. Of course I jumped at this unique opportunity, as I had heard so much about the extraordinary work being done. I was sure it would enhance my being able to convey in words, the incredible service of and further support Wildlife Rescue Queensland.
Arriving early for the tour, our attention was immediately drawn to a large operating theatre surrounded by large glass windows and noticeably, the name ‘Stevie’. The team of professionals were working on him to remove a large clump of nylon fishing line from his stomach. Being able to look deep into the stomach with the endoscope, they could determine that the line was in several parts, making the job much harder. Despite the difficulties, they finally succeeded. One team member came to the window to show us the line they had just extracted from Stevie’s stomach.
Unfortunately, the flipper had to be amputated, but Stevie is now doing well thanks to the work of the skilled veterinarian team, antibiotics and pain medication. Thankfully, turtles can survive in the wild with only three flippers and Stevie is expected to be released back to the wild in two or three months.
Wow! What dedication and the work they do is nothing short of impressive.
A big shout out must go to our young heroin Stevie, her family, the Beachmere locals and the team at Wildlife Rescue Queensland for their superb work in helping to save Stevie.
The Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital has a dedicated turtle unit under the watchful eye of a marine microbiologist. They have been run off their feet with high demands on their services following the impacts of the flooding up near Hervey Bay and the depletion of seagrass. Many of the turtles in care have been suffering from a disease that rots part of their shell. Fortunately, this will later grow back with appropriate treatment. It is a slow and challenging process requiring much care and dedication.
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