Rehabilitated turtles set for Valentines Day release

Two turtles that have spent months in rehabilitation at Australian Seabird Rescue in Ballina will be released at Byron Bay’s Main Beach tomorrow, just in time for Valentines Day.

And the group is using the event to promote a crowd funding campaign for Dolly, the largest turtle the ASR has ever had in care.

In late November, ASR received a phone call from north coast emergency vet about a sea turtle that had washed up at Lennox Head Surf Club.

The green sea turtle was floating and unable to submerge and had a small about of barnacle cover.

Named Elsie after a volunteer’s daughter, she was placed into intensive care and put on a course of antibiotics.

Soon after, Elsie went into ASR’s tanks for some well-deserved Vitamin D before going into the pre-release tank were she was able to get rid of her float, and pigged out on some fresh squid. She is now two kilograms heavier that when she first came into care!

On December 9, Bruce from Brunswick Heads delivered a green sea turtle to ASR, which had been stranded on the beach.

Halsey was suffering from severe floating syndrome to the extent that she was actually on her side. She was incredibly lethargic.

But after a course of antibiotics, she started eating and her float slowly disappeared. Halsey shared the outside tank with Elsie and was placed into the pre-release tank shortly after and continued to pig out on squid with Elsie.

Australian Seabird rescue is a non-profit organisation that relies heavily on donations to keep rehabilitating sea turtles and seabirds. They currently have 10 turtles in care, including a 70-kilogram Hawksbill turtle, Dolly, one of the biggest sighted on the east coast of Australia.

The group needs to raise $7,000 for a satellite tracker that will provide data and help Dolly’s survival.