The National Marine Aquarium in Portsmoth UK has welcomed Heidi, a 29kg male turtle rescued from South Malé Atoll in the Maldives.
Heidi was found entangled in a ghost net, a fishing net that has been abandoned, lost or discarded into the Ocean. He had deep wounds to both front flippers, and unfortunately the front left flipper had to be amputated. Heidi’s remaining front flipper suffered extensive muscle, nerve and blood vessel damage so is also not functional, meaning he would not have survived in the wild.
Following four years in rehabilitation at the Olive Ridley Project Marine Turtle Rescue Centre in the Maldives, the 65cm turtle is now in his new home in Plymouth. Landing in the UK at the start of November, Heidi has spent a few weeks in an acclimation tank in order to properly settle into his new abode before he is moved to the Aquarium’s stunning Great Barrier Reef Tank.
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