Posted on 09th February 2022 by Media Relations
This green sea turtle arrived at Taronga Wildlife Hospital in Sydney on 20 January 2022 from Lake Macquarie.
It had an injury to its flipper caused by entanglement from the rope of a crab pot and fishing line. The fishing line had cut into the animal’s flipper, impacting the soft tissue all the way down to the bone. X-rays also identified a fish hook in the animal’s neck.
The Taronga Veterinary team treated the wounds and attempted to retrieve the fish hook. Unfortunately, the hook could not be extracted but it does not seem to be causing a problem for the animal.
The turtle is recovering well at Taronga’s Wildlife Intensive Care department, eating squid and swimming around. It sustained significant injuries so it’s likely it will be a long road to recovery, but we hope that one day we can release it back to the wild.
This case is a good reminder for members of the public to take all rubbish and fishing debris with them when they depart beaches and waterways this summer.
Taronga’s two Wildlife Hospitals provide vital emergency assistance to all kinds of sick and injured native animals. With your help we can provide them with the best possible care.
