|
|
INDEX |
AND STAFF |
TRACKING |
|
|
ALBUM |
|
|
|
INDEX |
AND STAFF |
TRACKING |
|
|
ALBUM |
|
| lennie | boater | bear II | lefty | oceans11 | chase | ranger |
freeman |
scuter | durham |
| friday | IC | westy | canady | waterway |
snaggle |
anderson2 |
bishop |
veteran |
|
CHASE |
LOGGERHEAD Caretta caretta Juvenile |
|
| THE STRANDING | On Friday, at about
12:30, turtle rescuer Nancy Fahey received a call from Ed
and Janice O'Neil about a turtle they had observed in
Lollipop Lagoon at Wrightsville Beach.
While wakeboarding in the lagoon, the family saw the
turtle surface in the same general area numerous
times. Concerned about the boat traffic
soon to increase dramatically during the weekend, they
called to report their sightings and concerns. The family headed out in their boat, and Nancy drove to the area to find a dock from which to access the water. From there, the waiting game began. Finally the turtle surfaced, right in the middle of the lagoon. The O'Neil's daughter, Shannon, spotted the turtle right away, but as nancy eased into the water and swam toward the turtle he went down before she could get to him. Finally, about 30 minutes later, he made an appearance, but again, quite a distance from rescuers. The turtle was gone by the time they reached the place he had been. Darn! And so it went for awhile. Obviously we were into a game of "catch me if you can!" Realizing one person couldn't be in five places at one time, the two young men with the family, Michael O'Neil and Miles Butler joined in an effort to help catch this debilitated, but not so debilitated turtle. The three of us formed a triangle and waited some more. The O'Neils were working as spotters from the boat, and also fending off the increasing boat traffic in the lagoon. Finally, there he was, close enough for someone to grab him this time, but it was not to be! After a few more near misses, and with legs and feet cramping, Nancy knew with a sinking heart time was running out for a successful rescue. At least on this day. Still, unwilling to leave this guy behind, she was determined to wait for one more sighting, one more give-it-all-you've-got effort. The family was reluctant to leave her out there by herself, and they, too, decided to give it another shot. Up the turtle came, right near Michael. He swam over and grabbed hold of the turtle closer to the top of the carapace this time, tilting him back a bit so he couldn't shake us again. I swam as fast as I could over to Michael and Mr. Slippery, and huffing and puffing, the two of us swam him, with Miles right there with us and for what seemed like forever, over to the sand at the base of the bulkhead. Whoo-hoo, 3 1/2 hours later, we finally got us a turtle!! The turtle's left front flipper had been severed by a prop, with about half of it missing. There was also a small cut right across his little nose. These were not fresh wounds, however, the turtle was edematous and likely full of infection. In addition to that, he was covered in a thick coat of black mud and had quite a few barnacles, and leeches all over him. Poor little guy, he was definitely on a downhill slide! Everyone quickly (and, I'm sure, quite thankfully) jumped right in and helped load the turtle and all the equipment into the 'ol turtle-hauler, and they were off to the KBSTRRC. |
| THE TREATMENT | Chase has been cleaned and well
fed, and she is reponding to care. |
| FEB 2011 |
   Video
clip |
 |
|