Endangered green turtle ‘Elwood’ sets sail after 125 days in care

An endangered sub-adult green turtle has been released back into the wild by SEA LIFE Sunshine Coast Aquarium with the assistance of Coast Guard Mooloolaba.

The turtle named Elwood was found stranded at North Peregian Beach on Thursday 30 June. Coolum Coast Care volunteer Jo safely transported the unwell marine turtle to SEA LIFE Sunshine Coast for specialised veterinary assessment and rehabilitation.

“After a thorough veterinary assessment it was determined that the turtle was suffering from low blood glucose, abnormal liver enzymes and a nasty burrowing barnacle wound,” shared Brittany Attwood, Vet Nurse at SEA LIFE Sunshine Coast.

After 125 days in care, Elwood, who now weighs in at 33kg and 70cm in length, was finally given a clean bill of health and cleared for release.

The team at SEA LIFE Sunshine Coast along with the generous support of Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Association (AVCGA) boarded one of the fleet’s vessels with their very special cargo and set sail to Old Woman Island (Mudjimba Island).

Once a suitable location was determined, Elwood was carefully lowered by the team towards the water’s surface for release before disappearing back into the big ol’ blue.

There are seven species of marine turtles in the world and six occur in Australian waters. All six species have suffered population declines as a result of pollution, entanglement in fishing nets, plastic bag ingestion, depletion of food stocks, boat-related injuries, loss of shoreline breeding areas and egg predation by species such as foxes and dogs.

SEA LIFE Sunshine Coast’s Turtle Rehabilitation Centre is behind the scenes due to the high level of care the team need to provide each individual turtle.

SEA LIFE Sunshine Coast runs a Behind The Scenes Tour, which gives guests the unique opportunity to visit the Turtle Rehabilitation Centre, meet the rescued sea turtles and learn how the team plays a key role in their recovery.

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