Hypothermic turtle revived after rescue from Bay of Fundy shore, shipped to Bermuda
CTV
An endangered green sea turtle found on a Nova Scotia beach has been revived and shipped back to warmer waters after nearly dying in the frigid Bay of Fundy.
An endangered green sea turtle found on a Nova Scotia beach has been revived and shipped back to warmer waters after nearly dying in the frigid Bay of Fundy.
Scottie was given her name after she was found hypothermic and semi-comatose on Nov. 16 on a beach near Scots Bay, about 100 kilometres northwest of Halifax.
Kathleen Martin, director of the Canadian Sea Turtle Network, said in an interview Friday a couple was walking on the beach when they noticed the juvenile turtle, which was about 30 centimetres wide across its hard-shelled back and weighed just over five kilograms.
At first, the rescuers thought Scottie was dead, but as they went to lift her off the sand, "she moved her head," Martin said. The turtle was carried off the beach and brought to Dalhousie University veterinarian Chris Harvey-Clark and his wife, Patricia Pryor, also a veterinarian, for treatment.
"In 25 years, we've only had two turtles that have lived longer than 48 hours after being rescued from a cold-stunned situation, and she's the second of those," said Martin.
Martin said there are increasing instances of green sea turtles being found on Nova Scotia beaches as the Gulf of Maine to the province's south warms and the animals follow warm currents into the colder Canadian waters.
Most don't survive for long when they do venture this far north, she said. Scottie -- described by Martin as a "robust" five-year-old -- was the sole survivor of eight turtles found this month along Nova Scotia's shores.
