SINGAPORE: After more than a year of rehabilitation, two rare rescued turtles joined the SEA Aquarium’s marine life collection on Tuesday (May 23), Resorts World Sentosa said in a joint media release with SEA Aquarium.
One of them, a critically endangered male hawksbill turtle nicknamed Hawke, arrived at the aquarium on Mar 24, 2016.
The turtle, which was estimated to have been between five and eight months old at the time, was believed to have been abandoned by its owner, who had kept it illegally as a pet. It had developed a pyramided carapace – a shell deformity likely attributed to poor nutrition and care.
Photo of Hawke the hawksbill turtle showing its pyramided carapace, a shell deformity likely attributed to poor nutrition and care. (Photo: Resorts World Sentosa)
The other, an endangered green sea turtle that aquarists named Louie, was a week-old hatchling that weighed all of 20 grammes when it was handed over to SEA Aquarium on Sep 28, 2015.
Louie the green sea turtle weighed a mere 20g when it arrived at SEA Aquarium last year. (Photo: Resorts World Sentosa)
Aquarists and the animal health team “spared no effort” in caring for the two young turtles, SEA Aquarium said. These include feeding the turtles species-specific diets, monitoring their growth, measuring their body weights monthly and observing their behaviour with other fish.
Louie, the green sea turtle. (Photo: Resorts World Sentosa)
Both turtles were gradually moved from separate, smaller homes to larger habitats where they could be slowly introduced to other species.
Louie has grown to almost 12 kilogrammes – still a fraction of the 200 kilogrammes that green sea turtles can grow to.
An aquarist carrying Louie the green sea turtle for its monthly weighing. (Photo: Resorts World Sentosa)
Hawke now tips the scales at a healthy 17 kilogrammes. Hawksbill turtles can weigh as much as 70 kilogrammes, the aquarium said.
Hawke the hawksbill turtle in its new home at SEA Aquarium. (Photo: Resorts World Sentosa)
The two turtles are now housed at the aquarium’s Shipwreck Habitat, with species such as the pompano, threadfin trevally and shark ray, which are deemed compatible with the turtles. This provides inter-species interaction which is not only good for the animals, but allows visitors to witness the dynamics of marine life, the aquarium said.
The aquarium added that it is open to exploring the possibility of releasing the turtles in the future, in partnership with the authorities, but added that this “requires careful consideration, taking into account key concerns including the suitability of wild habitats and poaching, which must be thoroughly addressed to ensure their survival in the wild”.
