Injured turtle for rehabilitation

THE release of one of the two sea turtles housed at the turtle sanctuary of the Cleanergy Park in Punta Dumalag, Matina Aplaya, did not push through as the creature was bleeding due to fresh wounds on its flipper.

The Hawksbill sea turtle, which weighs around 65 kilograms, was found trapped amid mangroves inside the Cleanergy Park last February 25 and was wounded as it struggled to be free, said Davao Light and Power Co. Community relations officer Fermin Edillon in an interview with SunStar Davao.

Only the green sea turtle found by the residents of Bucana village on February 24, which was immediately turned over to the sanctuary, was released Tuesday afternoon, February 28.

The wounded sea turtle has to recuperate first before it is set to be released again to the sea, Edillion added.

He said the release was not pushed through after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and their partner veterinarian assessed the condition of the Hawksbill sea turtle.

“Nakita nila nga nay mga samad [ang Hawksbill sea turtle]. Kinahanglan siya nga asikasuhon sa… i-control sa ang bleeding before i-release [sa dagat] (They saw the wounds of the Hawksbill sea turtle and found that it should be taken care of first and that the bleeding must be controlled before it should be released to the sea),” Edillon said.

When asked when the next possible release of the turtle will be, Edillion said they could not tell yet since it would matter on how the sea turtle responds to the treatment to be given to it.

Aside from the release of the sea turtle, they also found four sea turtle nests inside the park last January 10 and 25 and February 8 and 24.

According to Edillon, these eggs are expected to hatch next week.

They believe that it is another Hawksbill sea turtle, which is already a critically endangered turtle, that is nesting in the area or it could be another kind of sea turtle.

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