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Founded in 1986, it is
the only facility of its kind in the world that offers unique and broad
medical services for this endangered species
Hurricane Wilma was not nice to little Willie. The storm surge that followed Wilma swept the loggerhead turtle inland on to Highway 1 on the Florida Keys. While larger loggerhead turtles were able to crawl back to the ocean, Willie lost his orientation. The palm-size turtle is now being pampered at an officially certified hospital for sea turtles in Marathon, Florida. People who work at the hospital say it is the only facility of its kind in the world. Founded in 1986, the turtle hospital offers unique and broad medical services for sea turtles—from operating rooms to x-rays, massage and physical therapy in a whirlpool and a laboratory as well. While making her rounds, Kim Sonderman, 31, praises her patient Lbow (Elbow), who swims alone in a blue aquarium like other patients in the room. His two front flippers were caught in fishing lines and both were very swollen. Lbow, a green sea turtle, is receiving caring massages to promote blood circulation in the flippers. He has also been assigned to physical therapy and placed in the whirlpool so that he moves his flippers, Sonderman said. One of the hospital’s success stories is Sharkbite, a loggerhead turtle that was bitten by a shark. Sonderman pointed to a perfect bite impression made by a shark on the turtle’s lower left side, and speculated that the shark missed his flipper because it was tucked underneath his shell. But the turtle also had a problem with his jaw. "We were having to do physical therapy with ropes, trying to force his jaws open for him and strengthen his muscles in the back. And because of that he wasn’t able to eat," Sonderman said. He said that Sharkbite for a while had to be force-fed until last month when some food accidentally dropped into his tank. "He ate it by himself and continued to eat six more squids that afternoon. And now he is up to 12 squids a day, all by himself." RR, a hawksbill turtle estimated to be 10 years old, lost its right front flipper in a shark attack and since then has floated only on the surface of the water. "He moves, but he would rather just float," Sonderman said laughing. "He’s very lazy." RR could swim only in one direction, so therapists put his food in the opposite direction. "And he did really well, he graduated and now we got him to the point where we’re putting food on the bottom of the tank and he has to dive down to get his food," she said. "Now he’ll dive for us but he won’t stay down." The hospital has handled 750 sea turtles in its two decades. It recently had 41 patients under the care of five veterinarians and many volunteers. There are a few patients like Bubblebutt, whose shell was badly damaged by a ship’s propeller, which are permanent residents. Many of the turtles arrive in need of surgery, suffering from a type of herpes virus called fibropapilloma that causes cauliflower-like tumours on the eyes and flippers. The largest growth ever removed weighed 1.5 kg. Ritchie Moretti, founder and director of the hospital, said people often wonder about all the care lavished on the turtles when humans often go begging for good medical support. "Turtles are endangered," Moretti said. "We look at any turtle which comes here as if it is the one turtle. That’s going to make the difference. Out of 100 turtles, only one makes it to adulthood and that’s why this one is so special." Moretti recalled with dread the day Wilma struck last October. He said the hospital did not lose any of its turtles, but everything else at the hospital was ruined and Moretti’s Motel was left uninhabitable by the storm. Prior to the damage, the motel’s annual profit of $200,000 went entirely to the turtle hospital. The facility now survives on donations and money from group tours. The hospital closes only if there is a "turtle emergency". — DPA
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