Turtles

Abbey

Abbey is a sub-adult with a shell size of 62cm.  Abbey came to us with a large wound on one of her flippers. Unfortunately, the bone became infected and the flipper had to be amputated to stop the infection from spreading. Abbey is currently recovering in Turtle Bay and, pending veterinary checks, will be released back to the wild despite her missing flipper.

New turtle (yet to be named)

Our latest temporary resident is a green sea turtle found in the Ōmokoroa region. It was accidentally hooked by a fisherman and they did the right thing by calling 0800 362 468 (0800 DOC HOT) immediately.

During triage assessment at Auckland Zoo, the vet team discovered a second hook which had been ingested for quite some time. The older hook had a thick layer of abnormal tissue around it and the point of one hook as within a few mm of the heart and lungs. 

Both hooks were successfully removed and the turtle will now continue to recover and be monitored by our animal welfare team.

It's doing well so far and enjoying time at Turtle Bay.

Taka is an Eastern Pacific green turtles are also referred to as black sea turtles and native to waters near Costa Rica and the Galápagos Islands, which means Taka is a long way from home! This species is classified as endangered, with populations decreasing due to overfishing and plastic pollution.

Taka was found at Takapuna Beach in May 2020, he was suffering from exhaustion, dehydration and low body temperature.

Taka was released at the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve in April 2022. Find out about the release here. 

The smallest loggerhead we have had under our care, Puck, only weighed 180g when it was found on Ninety Mile Beach in July 2020. Puck was dehydrated and covered in barnacles. It was very uncommon to see turtle hatchlings in New Zealand due to the cold water temperatures. Puck was under our care until he was bigger and stronger. 

Puck was released at the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve in April 2022 weighing a healthy 2.2kg. Find out about the release here. 

Delta

Kibou

This juvenile loggerhead was found washed up on Muriwai Beach with a bad lung infection in October 2019. Luckily, with the help of the Department of Conservation and Auckland Zoo, we have been able to clear up this infection, and gain an impressive 13kgs ahead of his release.

Kibou was released in March 2021. Find out about the release here. 

Toby

Toby a young green sea turtle found outside Whangarei in July 2018. Despite his small size, Toby is packed full of attitude and spends most of his time scratching his back against his favourite rock in his Turtle Rescue display.

Toby was release off the coast of Tutukaka in March 2019.

Find out more about the release here.

Jaxon

Jaxon the loggerhead turtle who has been stealing the hearts of the team since his arrival in an ice-cream container in October 2017. Jaxon was found stranded at 90 Mile Beach with a severe lung infection. Following several weeks of treatment, Jaxon regained his attitude and size, growing from 1.89 kg to a healthy 7.32 kg.

Jaxon was released together with Toby in March 2019.

Find out more about the release here.

Calvin

Calvin arrived the Turtle Rehabilitation Centre in November 2018, after he was rescued in the far north.

At the time of his rescue, Calvin was in a worse condition of any turtle cared for at the aquarium, weighing just 11kg, but after 14 months of continuous monitoring and rehabilitation, he was finally well enough to be released back to its natural habitat.

Calvin was release into the ocean at Rangiputa Beach in March 2020.

Find out more about the release here.