The government program of protection and conservation of sea turtles appears to be successful. Newspapers and television programs often report instances of people caring for sick or wounded animals or returning to the sea animals that had been washed ashore. These actions indicate that coastal communities have been aware that sea turtles are threatened and therefore need protection.
There was a time when sea turtles were absent from our coastal areas. During the decades of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, one could hardly find young turtles foraging in our coastal areas or mature females laying eggs on our beaches.
The situation began to change in the 2000s. Early in that decade, we noted turtles laying eggs on the beaches of Bongo Island off Cotabato City and in south-eastern Negros. Throughout that decade, sea turtles of various sizes were found in many coastal areas of the country feeding or laying eggs.
Clearly, they have returned to our shores after a long period of absence. This is not surprising; turtles take a long time (two to three decades?) to become sexually mature, and the hatchlings travel long distances from their natal sites to feed and grow to maturity. But when they become sexually mature, they tend to return to the areas where they were laid as eggs. On Negros beaches, the sea turtles we see are probably those laid and hatched on these beaches. But some of them may have come from small islands in southern and south-western Philippines particularly in the Sulu Sea. The Turtle Islands in the Sulu Sea have served as breeding sites for at least two species of sea turtles.
A well-equipped rescue center is needed at the Silliman Marine Laboratory. In the past the Laboratory performed this function for injured or sick turtles, which were returned to the wild after their recovery, but no written records about this service have been kept. I am therefore recording here the details of the rescue of a large female Green Sea Turtle from the sea off Lipayo, Dauin municipality, Negros Oriental.
On June 1, 2013, a large female Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas) with a curved length of 42 inches, a curved width of 37 inches, and a weight of ca. 100 kilograms was brought to the Laboratory by truck by Glenn Carballo, Proprietor of Dive Works; Luke Nicholls, President of Dive Society of Dauin; Gary Anfone, Sea Explorer Dive Shop of Dauin; and Dionisio Serial, Bantay Dagat of Lipayo, Dauin.
According to them, Gilbert Tubog (a fisherman) found the turtle floating in the sea about one kilometer near the Atlantis Resort off Lipayo, Dauin,Negros Oriental. Tubog brought the animal to the resort and alerted his companion, Alexander Balneg, who called the attention of Alan Banlaygas (Lipa Association Officer), who contacted Luke Nicholls, who in turn contacted Glen Carballo. Carballo called SUAKCREM.
Carballo and Nicholls found a small wound on the head probably due to a small spear gun. At the Laboratory, Adonis Floren and others arranged to place the turtle in one of the concrete tanks. SUAKCREM staff requested Dr. Greg Acuña and Dr. Ely Alcala to treat the wound and to inject an antibiotic in the left forelimb (2ml. [IM] Enrofloxacin) and vitamins (3ml.[IM] Duphafral) injected in the right forelimb.
On June 2, the turtle apparently recovered. It was active in the rectangular tank but on June 3, Marine Laboratory personnel and graduate students helped in placing the turtle in a round concrete tank to prevent it from hitting the corner walls of the tank.
On June 4, Dr. Alessandro Ponzo, veterinarian of the Physalus Organization and Bohol-based Large Marine Vertebrate Program, and two assistants visited the Marine Laboratory on invitation by Graduate Student Jean Utzurrum, examined the turtle and suspected that its problem was accumulation of gas in the lung cavities causing it to float. He injected saline solution to hydrate the animal. He recommended that the treatment be continued for 21 days. Oscar Mongcopa of CENRO-DENR Dumaguete also promised to provide support in the form of medicines and food throughout its confinement in the Laboratory.
Many thanks are due to the persons mentioned above for their contributions in rescuing the turtle from further harm and for providing medicines and laboratory care. We owe them a debt of gratitude for their prompt action. We need people of their kind to help ensure the survival of our threatened marine wildlife.
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Author’s email: [email protected]
