Rescued turtle Calvin returns to sea following Auckland rehab stint

Friday, 6 March 2020

Calvin is a sea turtle who was saved and rehabilitated. But single-use plastics are killing many of his kind. (Video first published March 2020).

A turtle rescued in poor condition has returned to sea after 14 months of rehab.

Green sea turtle Calvin was rescued from the Far North and received treatment at Auckland Zoo before arriving a Kelly Tarlton’s Sea Life Aquarium in November 2018.

He arrived at the aquarium in the “worst condition ever seen”, weighing 14 kilograms, staff said. But Calvin was released into the ocean on Wednesday at Rangiputa, north of Kaitaia, after regaining his strength.

Sea turtle Calvin was returned to sea after being rehabilitated at Kelly Tarlton’s aquarium.

Kelly Tarlton's head curator Andrew Christie said it was not easy to get him this far.

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'For the last 14 months, our dedicated team has worked closely with Calvin to nurse him back to health, and I'm incredibly pleased to report that he now weighs an impressive 20kg,” he said.

'Watching Calvin swim into the distance was a huge relief for all of those who have worked tirelessly nursing him back to health.”

Calvin came into care in the “worst condition ever seen” but after 14 months regained his strength.

For over a year, the turtle endured intensive care from staff and the team at the Auckland Zoo, involving tube feeding, CT scans and numerous blood tests, he said.

But despite the positive outcome, Christie emphasised that not all turtles are as lucky.

Sea turtles are endangered and reducing plastic use can help save them.

Of the seven marine turtle species found globally, five are found in New Zealand waters and all of them are either classified as endangered or critically endangered.

Turtles face a number of threats in the wild including boat strikes, entanglement, or accidental plastic ingestion.

DOC threatened species ambassador Erica Wilkinson said ingestion of plastic was increasingly the main reason that turtles wash ashore.

“So please think about single-use plastic and please dispose of it mindfully.

“If you find a turtle washed up on a beach, please call 0800 DOCHOT immediately. The sooner we can get the injured animal to safety, the higher its survival rate.”

Since its inception in 1985, Kelly Tarlton's has cared for 100 sick or injured sea turtles at its Turtle Rehabilitation Centre.

Of those, 42 of these turtles have been rehabilitated and released back into the ocean.