A young-adult Olive Ridley turtle, which was stranded with her left flipper clipped, was rescued by nature lovers and released back into the wild on Sunday after rehabilitation for nearly two-and-half months.
Supraja Dharini of TREE Foundation said that soon after receiving information about the stranded turtle, volunteers from her organisation rushed to Besant Nagar. First aid was administered to her and then she was brought to the rehabilitation centre of TREE Foundation in Neelangarai.
Dr. Dharini said that in the last couple of months, the turtle gained three kg of weight and was ready for release into the wild. Based on the size of her carapace and head, compared to the normal size of adult turtles, the activists assumed that she could be a young one and named her Yuvathi, she said.
The turtle was carried in a huge drum meant for turtles from the rehabilitation centre to the sea. Then in a boat the turtle was taken to offshore rock formations where prey fish are found in abundance and released.
These turtles were rehabilitated with special permission form the Wildlife Wing of the Forest Department, at the TREE Foundation Rescue and Rehabilitation facility at Blue Beach Road, Neelankarai.
The turtle has been tagged on its flipper and its identity number is cg 2266. This could help the volunteers track her movement across the globe, Dr. Dharini added.
