Comments/Disposition:
On
Aug. 4, six Kemp's ridleys sea turtles arrived at Mote from Louisiana,
where they received initial treatment after being rescued from oily
waters. The turtles, which arrived at Mote oil-free, received health
checkups shortly after their arrival.
The turtles show no obvious signs of skin, lung or
digestive tract damage that oil can cause, and all six turtles are
eating. Careful follow-up exams are crucial, Mote
staff members say.
During
recent health examinations, Mote’s animal care team removed the turtles
from the water to do physical exams and take small blood
samples
for lab work to check for hidden illnesses.
“We don’t know the lasting effects of what happened to these
turtles," says Dr. Andy Stamper, consulting veterinarian for
Mote. "Many of the turtles had oil on
their skin and have ingested oil — response teams have swabbed oil out
of their
mouths and throats."
Before these turtles can return to sea, their health must
meet a list of specific criteria outlined by the federal authorities,
including: being
alert, active and able to swim and dive normally; feeding and excreting
waste
normally; good body condition and healthy weight; normal results from
lab work; recovery from other health problems diagnosed in
the clinic and no need for medications for at least two weeks before
release. These
turtles arrived at Mote as part of a group of more than a dozen that
were transported to Florida rehabiliation facilities. The move happened
to make room for more turtles in critical-care receiving facilities. The
new Mote patients are juvenile Kemp’s ridleys — among the
world’s smallest and rarest
sea turtles and an endangered species.
Stamper said the next step is to understand how oil affects
sea turtles and the marine food web in the long run. “The oil spill’s
effects may manifest in unpredictable
ways," he said. "For instance, we may see turtles a
year or two from now with syndromes that we don’t understand. There may
be problems down the road caused by
oil, but it will be difficult to establish a clear cause and effect,”
Stamper
said. “More research is needed to
understand what the oil and dispersant will do in these turtles’ natural
habitats.”
Their stay at Mote, expected to be relatively short, will be the turtles' last stop
on their road to recovery and return to the wild.
Aug. 18 Update: Three
sea turtles from this group were released
Aug. 18 in oil-free waters near Cedar Key in
Levy County, Fla. These turtles were part of a group of 23 released by federal,
state and partner biologists after being rescued and rehabilitated from
the
effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This group was the first to
be rehabbed and released after direct contact with oil from this spill. Scientists selected this release site on Florida’s Gulf coast because it
is an
important foraging area for the Kemp’s ridleys, the water was never
oiled and
the habitat provides everything these turtles need for survival,
according to NOAA
officials. The
release team was accompanied by Dr. Jane Lubchenco, administrator of
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Coast Guard
Admiral Thad Allen, commander of the Deepwater Horizon response team.
October Update: The oiled turtles that arrived as part of this group have all been release. In addition to the three released on Aug. 18, one was released on Aug. 31 and two were released on Sept. 16.
You can learn more about Mote’s Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital
and support these animals with a donation at: www.mote.org/seaturtlerehabilitation.
Read about Mote’s oil spill response at www.mote.org/oilresponse.
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