Rare olive ridley turtle washed up in Hawke's Bay dies at Auckland Zoo

Monday, 18 July 2016

Auckland Zoo's Mikaylie Wilson talks about treating the sick olive ridley turtle.

A rare turtle which washed up thousands of kilometres from home has died at Auckland Zoo.

The olive ridley turtle was found on Blackhead Beach, southern Hawke's Bay, last Wednesday after possibly being blown off course by a storm.

It was taken to the National Aquarium at Napier, then transferred to Auckland Zoo for treatment.

The olive ridley turtle was transferred to Auckland Zoo for treatment.

Zoo vet Melanie Leech said the turtle was an adult male and could be up to 50 years old.

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It was suffering from exhaustion and dehydration but was in a stable condition on Friday.

However, on Monday the zoo issued a statement saying the turtle had died in the early hours of Saturday morning.

'It's always tough when they don't pull through. But this was a very very sick turtle when it arrived, and based on its condition, the odds were, unfortunately, stacked against him,' Leech said.

'While he appeared to be improving a little, he was clearly masking the full extent of its condition – a survival tactic animals often employ.

'It was really good that he came in to us, as we could make him more comfortable and do our best to give him the best possible chance.'

The zoo's vet team had completed a post mortem on the turtle and was waiting on results.

Olive ridley turtles are usually found in tropical or subtropical waters but can end up in New Zealand if they get caught in strong sea currents.

Department of Conservation ranger Rod Hansen said it was 'very rare' to find one in Hawke's Bay.

'To the best of our knowledge, this is the first olive ridley to have been found here.'

The turtle's death comes just weeks after another was euthanased at Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium.

That turtle, named Ridley, washed up in Wellington on July 11 last year suffering from hypothermia, dehydration and an injured shell.

Kelly Tarlton's spokeswoman Claire Wheeler said Ridley had received comprehensive vet care but was unable to recover from the 'major trauma she had suffered at sea'.