The turtle transit centre in Airoli has a new inmate – an approximately 140kg rarely-sighted hard-shelled loggerhead turtle placed in a 2,000-litre tank. The turtle was found stranded on the shores of Madh island on August 17 and was transported to the centre for treatment for lung infection by the forest department.
The transit centre is run by the State Government Mangrove Cell and Mangrove Foundation, an autonomous unit of the forest department.
Loggerhead turtle is being seen on Indian seashore after a span of nearly seven years. “Loggerheads don’t nest in India. The last time these species were sighted was in 2017 at Dahanu and Kelwa beach. Now, in a span of three days, we have observed five loggerheads stranded on the Mumbai shores. Two of them were found in Raigad and were released back into the sea by the locals, but the one sighted at Madh island was rescued by the forest department and taken to the transit centre for treatment purposes,” said Harshal Karve, marine biologist and rescuer.
Prior to heading to the centre, the Mangrove Cell took the turtle to the veterinarian to ascertain its medical condition. “Since turtles are schedule 1 species, there is a special guideline to be followed while rescuing it. Before transporting the animal to the centre, it was taken to a veterinary doctor to ascertain its overall health conditions and the necessary course of medication to be followed,” said Prashant Bahadure, range forest officer, Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary (TCFS).
X-rays were taken following which the turtle was diagnosed to be having acute lung infection. “One of the reasons that turtles get stranded is because they are unable to breathe owing to poor lungs and not able to dive into the sea, therefore keeping afloat. The loggerhead turtle was also found to have wounds on its flipper, which is now to be treated with some antibiotics and supplementary medicines,” said Dr Rina Dev, veterinarian. She has been working with the centre and has in the past treated Olive Ridley and green turtles. The doctor acknowledges that this is the first time that a loggerhead is being treated.
“In the case of turtles, the first one week is very crucial for their health. For the loggerhead to be treated for the lung infection, it has to be given nebulisation twice a day and with regard to diet, it has to be fed prawns and crabs,” said Dev.
The turtle is expected to be at the centre for at least two months, but with round-the-clock supervision by the centre’s staff, an early recovery is expected. “We want the turtle to get better at the earliest so that it can be released back into the sea. Until then, all efforts are in place to get it better,” said Bahadure.
A committee formed as per the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests determines the release of the turtle.
Loggerheads are long migrants’ species and are believed to be showing on Indian shores in search of food. For biologists, the sighting is termed as a means to learn more about the species.
“We have very little information about the species. Since these turtles are known to travel long distances for nesting and feeding, there are other indigenous vertebrates that get attached to the shells. These become a very good indicator to study their migration patterns. We have collected barnacles that were attached to its shell and this will give us an idea about the different parts of the sea it has travelled before getting stranded here,” said Karve.