Rescued Green Sea Turtle Comber Soon Leaves Vancouver Aquarium

Summary: Rescued green sea turtle Comber soon leaves Vancouver Aquarium, his home since Jan. 23, for a new home farther south in San Diego.

rescued green sea turtle Comber at Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre: Global BC @GlobalBC, via Twitter March 15, 2016

Rescued green sea turtle Comber, an in-patient at the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre since Jan. 23, 2016, heads toward a healthy recovery and a release to San Diego's warm waters, according to Vancouver Aquarium’s update Monday, March 14, via Facebook.

The beached, hypothermic green sea turtle had a faint, irregular heartbeat when he was rescued Saturday, Jan. 23, from Combers Beach on Vancouver Island’s southwest coast. Less than two months later, he has a name, Comber, and displays a healthy appetite. Comber’s health continues to show steady improvement during his residency at the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre.

Rescued green sea turtle Comber is recovering so well so fast, in fact, that his weeks at the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre are now numbered, in a good way. In a few weeks, Comber is leaving Vancouver, British Columbia, and heading for the warm waters off San Diego, California.

Dr. Martin Haulena, chief veterinarian at the Vancouver Aquarium, has been directing Comber’s care since the hypothermic green sea turtle’s rescue. The lethargy associated with hypothermia, also known as cold-stunning, sometimes extensively shuts down all visible life signs. Parks Canada officers and the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Centre’s team were alert to the faintest signs of life during their careful relay transport of rescued green sea turtle Comber across Vancouver Island and then across the Salish Sea to the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre.

“This animal, you know, actually took some breaths during transport, so we were very sure that it was alive. And it sounds really funny the way I’m speaking, but it is very, very difficult when these animals are cold-stunned to actually tell whether they’re alive or not,” Dr. Haulena recalls Tuesday, March 15, for reporter Linda Aylesworth during a Global News video update.

Comber’s recovery protocol immediately after rescue emphasized slow warming to raise his body temperature by two degrees each day. On Jan. 23, the hypothermic green sea turtle registered an extremely low body temperature of 11.2 degrees Celsius (52.16 degrees Fahrenheit). Normal body temperature range for green sea turtles is 20 to 25 degrees Celsius (68 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit).

“He’s very poorly responsive, if at all. Doesn’t breathe. You’re looking at a floating turtle that is really looking horrible,” Dr. Haulena tells Global News reporter Aylesworth.

Patient, persistent care of the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre’s in-patient soon yields positive signs of recovery. On Thursday, Feb. 4, less than two weeks after rescue, the Vancouver Aquarium reports via Facebook and Twitter that Marine Science Centre’s in-patient is no longer hypothermic, nearing the normal body temperature range, and consuming food. On Friday, Feb. 19, four weeks after rescue, the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre shares, via Facebook, a behind-the-scenes, live stream of the rescued green sea turtle eating a healthy breakfast.

The Marine Science Centre’s update via Global News reporter Linda Aylesworth on March 15 shows rescued green sea turtle Comber swimming and feeding in a shallow pool.

A staff member says of the juvenile green sea turtle’s food preferences: “He likes shrimp.”

Comber now thrives in his own small pool in the Centre’s basement. The location quarantines him in preparation for his upcoming departure from British Columbia in favor of southern California.

Worldwide subtropical and tropical waters between the latitudes of 30 degrees south and 30 degrees north are the normal marine environment for green sea turtles. How did Comber travel so far from his normal range?

“With El Niño, or probably related to that, we’ve seen a few species that we wouldn’t normally have here in British Columbia,” Dr. Haulena explains.

Dr. Haulena identifies required preparations for Comber’s release. The intricacies of discharging rescued green sea turtle Comber from his temporary home in British Columbia center on his status as an endangered species in the United States. Canada does not list green sea turtles as endangered species under the Species at Risk Act because the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the northernmost North American country fall far beyond the green sea turtle’s normal range.

“Right now, it’s all systems go,” Dr. Haulena tells Global News. “Canadian permits are in, and in hand. They’ve been awesome. The Permit Office just turned that around. It’s been great. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife has thrown their paperwork in for their permit.”

Comber’s dramatic recovery from his winter beaching, far from home, leads to a happy ending with his return in spring to familiar waters.

“It’s great. It’s so much fun to see him doing well, and it’s so much fun to see everybody so excited about him doing well,” Dr. Haulena says.

Comber, Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre's in-patient since January: Linda Aylesworth @laylesworthtv, via Twitter March 15, 2016

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

rescued green sea turtle Comber at Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre: Global BC @GlobalBC, via Twitter March 15, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/GlobalBC/status/709827299537981440g

Comber, Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre's in-patient since January: Linda Aylesworth@laylesworthtv, via Twitter March 15, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/laylesworthtv/status/709845011962048512

For further information:

Aylesworth, Linda @laylesworthtv. "Comber the tropical Green Sea Turtle gets a second chance after being discovered near death near Tofino." Twitter. March 15, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/laylesworthtv/status/709845011962048512

Global News @GlobalBC. "Tropical sea turtle found hypothermic in BC waters recovers against the odds." Twitter. March 15, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/GlobalBC/status/709827299537981440

Marriner, Derdriu. "Hypothermic Green Sea Turtle Beached in British Columbia Far From Home." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/01/hypothermic-green-sea-turtle-beached-in.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Vancouver Aquarium Reports Hypothermic Green Sea Turtle Steadily Heals." Earth and Space News. Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/02/vancouver-aquarium-reports-hypothermic.html

Talmazan, Yuliya. “Tropical sea turtle found hypothermic in BC waters recovers against the odds.” Global News Canada. March 15, 2016 3:32 pm.
Available @ http://globalnews.ca/news/2579457/tropical-sea-turtle-found-hypothermic-in-bc-waters-recovers-against-the-odds/?sf22616534=1

Vancouver Aquarium @vanaqua. "Live: You're watching a live stream ... " Facebook. March 14, 2016.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/vanaqua/videos/10153321724685800/