Okay loyal blog followers...we've finally arrived at the release blog - thank for your interest in this rare and incredible turtle.  From past blogs you know a giant leatherback stranded, was rehabilitated and obviously from the the title of the blog, he was released back into the big blue. [See video of the release in this post and the first mapping data in this post.]




Before removing the turtle from the trailer, our colleagues Kara and Mike Dodge applied a satellite tag. Dr. Innis and I have been working with Kara on her long-term field study of leatherback sea turtles. Kara has applied satellite tags to many turtles throughout her research so it made sense to bring in the experts. 







































The satellite tag has been transmitting data since this rare, giant leatherback was released.  No spoilers here folks, you'll have to checkout the next blog if you want to see where he went and how we think he is doing thus far.

Thanks to those of you who have contacted us with words of support. We are grateful for your encouragement.

- Connie

Hi all,
I'm back with the third installment detailing the leatherback rehabilitation and release effort. For those of you just joining, a 655-pound male leatherback sea turtle stranded on Cape Cod and was transported to the New England Aquarium for rehabilitation. We faced many challenges with the rare, giant turtle. I am happy to report that we overcame them all and released this endangered turtle back into the wild on September 22, 2012. [See video of the release in this post and see the first mapping data in this post.]
 

As you will notice from the photos, we brought in a lot of help to make sure the job of removing this giant turtle from the rehab tank and transporting the animal to the boat was done safely and quickly to minimize stress for our patient. While we worked to get the forklift in place and the lift bag lowered into the tank, the leatherback rested underwater at the far end of the tank. 





This photo shows the lift bag submerged, while we slowly guide the turtle into the bag.  It is important to note that while I use the term "lift bag," it is rectangular in shape and does not actually close as the name "bag" implies.



The team guides the turtle all the way into the lift bag and then prepares to drain the majority of the water from the bag. 






Once outside the building, the turtle in his lift bag was gently placed on waiting stretchers.  Al, our forklift operator, moved this giant turtle so smoothly and gently you would have thought a baby was in there.

 

The New England Aquarium doesn't own an enclosed rescue vehicle to move live, large patients such as this turtle, so we called our partners at the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), who were glad to lend a hand.





Nest stop...the giant turtle is loaded onto a lobster boat and released into Nantucket Sound.  Stay tuned for the release blog.

- Connie

Hi all,

Below is the second set of photos in the continuation of what appears to be a historic rehabilitation event in sea turtle history. As far as I can find, no other leatherback sea turtle anywhere in the world has been rehabilitated and released with a satellite transmitter to document the turtle's re-entry into it's natural environment and it's survival. I hope my sea turtle colleagues will correct me if I am wrong! 



This blog continues where I left off in the last installment.  In case you didn't read the first blog, I wrote about the stranding, transport and initial care of this giant turtle.  Below I pick up the story from the point of first entering the turtle in the water.



Based on the blood chemistry and profile, medication and fluids were prescribed by Dr. Innis or Dr. Cavin to correct abnormal blood results. The turtle became more active over time as these medications/corrective measures began to take effect. 













Plenty more photos and exciting parts of this story to tell folks.  In the next blog I'll begin explaining how we removed this giant turtle from the tank and transported him for release back into the big blue. Also to come are maps of his travels...history in the making my friends!  Stay tuned.

-Connie

Over the next couple posts, the Aquarium's Rescue Team will be sharing the in-depth story of an historic leatherback sea turtle rescue. For the latest news about the turtle, click here.  

Hi all,

It's been a while since I've blogged; guess I was waiting for something really BIG to happen. As many of you know from the wide media coverage, we recently rescued and rehabilitated a giant endangered leatherback sea turtle... a rare and difficult undertaking. (Learn more on the News blog about this here and here.) I plan to tell this story over several blogs due to the importance and detail involved in this rescue effort.

The photo below shows the leatherback as our partners at the Massachusetts Audubon at Wellfleet Bay (WBWS) found him on the morning of September 20, 2012. It is important to note that this animal was actually found the night before at dark out on a mud flat in Truro, MA. It was deemed unsafe to try to remove this animal in mud after dark. For those of you who have never visited Cape Cod, the mud is notorious—you can easily sink to your hips with one step. The midnight tide helped move this animal to a more solid location as seen in the photo below.

 

The staff at WBWS sent several photos while we were on route with the medical kits. This photo has a unit of measure next to the animal to help us visualize the size of the animal. The WBWS staff, with help from the International Fund For Animal Welfare (IFAW), were able to safely move this animal onto several stretchers and onto one of IFAW's specially designed large animal transport carts. Dr. Julie Cavin and I were able to examine the animal, collect and process a blood sample and provide some emergency support prior to the transport back to our Animal Care Center in Quincy, MA.

 

Once in our Sea Turtle Hospital, the animal was placed on a large pad of open cell foam while we collected vital information. We collected the same suite of information we collected in the field and compared the two sets. We also collected another blood sample for additional testing. The Aquarium's chief of veterinary medicine, Dr. Charles Innis, was waiting for us upon arrival and began immediate medical treatment based on the blood results and other diagnostic information. We worked as quickly and quietly as possible for less than an hour and then moved the animal into a holding pool.  


In the photo below you can see a white discoloration around the eye that is not consistent with normal leatherback sea turtle coloration.  This was caused by dermatitis. 



This turtle, while large, was under weight for his length and mature status. Weighing in at 655 pounds, this adult male should have been carrying more bulk. The turtle also had several soft tissue injuries that were not life threatening. I will detail those injuries with photos in a later blog.

We wanted the turtle back in water as soon as possible to improve his chances of survival. Because leatherback sea turtles do not do well in confined spaces, we had several challenges. Their pelagic nature means they have never encountered walls. As a result this species will continue to try to swim forward or in every direction until it breaks free and can travel freely. 

The photo below shows the leatherback shortly after we placed him in a hospital tank. Dr. Cavin can be seen in the background while two responders in dry suits stand ready to assist the animal if needed. The yellow straps you see around the animal are part of a specially designed turtle stretcher. We left the animal in the stretcher for the first hour or two to help support him in the water.


In the photo below, the turtle lifts his head to take a breath. This photo shows the yellow turtle stretcher, which is not confining his flippers, and black straps that belong to a specially designed leatherback harness. At this stage in his rehab the turtle was still lethargic and made little attempt to challenge the walls of the tank. Photos of the stretcher and harness will appear in greater detail in the next several blogs.

 

The photo below was taken through the glass of the hospital tank on the first day of rehab. This window allowed us to observe the animal underwater. In the photo you can see the front flipper in the foreground is in motion, the photo was taken as the animal was preparing to lift its head for a breath.  By this time the animal was beginning to respond to the supportive care/medical treatment and no longer required the support of the yellow stretcher.   


Given that less than a handful of adult leatherback sea turtles have ever been rehabbed anywhere around the globe and even fewer that have survived to go on to be released back into the ocean, this is an important story to tell.  Stay tuned for more blogs detailing the chronological events of an incredible effort to save the life of this rare giant turtle.

- Connie



One of our great summer interns Lara is holding Cyclops prior to the start of therapy.




Hard to see but there is moderate swelling in the right front flipper wrist and elbow area. Less intense swelling in the left elbow region.



Here you can see the left rear knee has some pronounced swelling.


When all the results were in it turned out this turtle has a systemic infection. We started treating for the infection but the swelling did not seem to diminish. As we continued the antibiotics we also started using a laser for the edema (swelling) of the joint area.

Our turtle's namesake Cyclops from X-men.

The LiteCure Companion Laser unit.


 

The cool glasses aren't just a fashion statement, they provide protection for our eyes from errant laser beams.

 

Unfortunately they don't make glasses for the turtle so when we are doing therapy on the front flippers we make sure to cover its eyes.


When I saw the photo above I thought, "Really cool photo for Cyclops!" But, it also demonstrates why we are wearing the protective glasses and cover the turtle's eyes. We probably didn't even notice the light coming out from under the shell, our camera sure did.  

Cyclops eating a squid head.





Cyclops chasing after a piece of squid!