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/

Vancouver Aquarium Reports Hypothermic Green Sea Turtle Steadily Heals

Summary: Less than one month after his Jan. 23 rescue, a hypothermic green sea turtle steadily heals at the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre.

Rescued green sea turtle chose squid over kale for first food intake Feb. 4: Vancouver Aquarium @vanaqua, via Twitter Feb. 5, 2016

Less than one month after rescue Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016, a hypothermic green sea turtle steadily heals, eating food and reaching normal body temperatures, reports the Vancouver Aquarium via Facebook and Twitter Thursday, Feb. 4, and via Facebook Friday, Feb. 19.

A behind-the-scenes, live stream at the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre via Facebook Friday, Feb. 19, shows the no-longer hypothermic green sea turtle eating breakfast.

“Our patient is now healthy enough to be in water at all times and is eating a steady diet of squid and vegetables. While adult green sea turtles are herbivores, juveniles are omnivores,” the Vancouver Aquarium says in the good news update.

The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre has been caring for the no-longer hypothermic green sea turtle since its rescue Jan. 23. The beached, hypothermic green sea turtle was admitted in a distressed, lethargic state with a wounded carapace, or hard upper shell. At 11.2 degrees Celsius (52.16 degrees Fahrenheit), the temperature of the hypothermic green sea turtle was critically lower than the normal body temperature range of 20 to 25 degrees Celsius (68 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit).

Dr. Martin Haulena, chief veterinarian at the Vancouver Aquarium, and Dr. Karisa Tang, the Aquarium’s veterinarian fellow, direct the care of the hypothermic green sea turtle. The initial treatment regimen for the hypothermic green sea turtle emphasizes antibiotics, fluid-intake of nutrients and slow raising of the thermostat by one or two degrees each day.

Green sea turtles display typical reptilian sensitivity to ambient temperatures.

“Reptiles are cold-blooded and they completely depend on their external environment to control their body temperature,” Dr. Haulena explains via the Vancouver Aquarium’s blog, Aqua Blog, Tuesday, Jan. 26, three days after the hypothermic green sea turtle’s admission.

“When they get into water that’s too cold they get hypothermia, also known as cold-stunning. Everything slows down: heart, respiration rates, they can’t swim, they can’t forage -- they get weaker and weaker,” Dr. Haulena adds.

On Thursday, Feb. 4, less than two weeks after admission, the no-longer hypothermic green sea turtle shows significant improvements in health. A post to Facebook includes a video of the healing patient.

“The green sea turtle rescued from Pacific Rim National Park Reserve on Jan. 23 continues to improve slowly. Its body temperature is back up into the normal range of 20 – 25 degrees Celsius, it’s going for regular saltwater swims, and today, it took food for the first time! While adult green sea turtles are herbivores, juveniles are omnivores, so its choice of squid over kale in this video might be another clue that we have a juvenile male on our hands, as we suspect,” states the Vancouver Aquarium’s post.

British Columbia does not fall within the traditional range inhabited by green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas). Waters warmed by El Niño likely lured the no-longer hypothermic green sea turtle almost 20 degrees north of traditional habitats located between the latitudes of 30 degrees north and 30 degrees south.

Green sea turtles are designated as an endangered species in their traditional range. Because they are not found naturally as far north as Canada’s Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific coasts, green sea turtles are not included on Canada-specific lists of endangered species.

Vancouver Aquarium’s most recent update on the no-longer hypothermic green sea turtle, posted via Facebook Friday, Feb. 19, reassures that “Green sea turtles are designated as endangered worldwide by the World Conservative Union (IUCN) Red List, and we are doing everything we can to get this turtle back into optimal health.”

green sea turtle range map: NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)/Office of Protected Resources, Public Domain, via NOAA NMFS

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 chose squid over kale for first food intake Feb. 4: Vancouver Aquarium @vanaqua, via Twitter Feb. 4, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/vanaqua/status/695418153946382336

green sea turtle range map: NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)/Office of Protected Resources, Public Domain, via NOAA NMFS @ http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/rangemaps/green_turtle.pdf

For further information:

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

Vancouver Aquarium. "Rescued Sea Turtle Found Far From Home." AquaBlog. Jan. 26, 2016.
Available @ http://www.aquablog.ca/2016/01/rescued-sea-turtle-found-far-from-home/

Vancouver Aquarium @vanaqua. "The green sea turtle rescued from Pacific Rim National Park Reserve on Jan. 23 continues to improve slowly. Its body temperature is back up into the normal range of 20-25 degrees Celsius, it’s going for regular saltwater swims, and today, it took food for the first time! While adult green sea turtles are herbivores, juveniles are omnivores, so its choice of squid over kale in this video might be another clue that we have a juvenile male on our hands, as we suspect." Facebook. Feb. 4, 2016.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/vanaqua/videos/vb.7881420799/10153245571720800/

Vancouver Aquarium‏ @vanaqua. "The green sea turtle rescued last month continues to improve. Watch it eat its first meal!" Twitter. Feb. 4, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/vanaqua/status/695418153946382336

Vancouver Aquarium @vanaqua. "LIVE: You're watching a live stream from behind the scenes at the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre where a rescued juvenile green sea turtle is having breakfast." Facebook. Feb. 19, 2016.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/vanaqua/videos/vb.7881420799/10153270496740800/

Hypothermic Green Sea Turtle Beached in British Columbia Far From Home

Summary: A hypothermic green sea turtle beached in British Columbia far from home Jan. 23 now is a patient at Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Centre.

hypothermic endangered green sea turtle recovering at Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre: Vancouver Aquarium @vanaqua, via Facebook Jan. 25, 2016

On Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016, a visitor at Canada’s Pacific Rim National Park spotted a hypothermic green sea turtle beached at Combers Beach on Vancouver Island’s southwestern coast, far north of its usual range in subtropical and tropical waters.

The visitor notified Parks Canada, the administrative agency for British Columbia’s three national park reserves. The hypothermic green sea turtle, known scientifically as Chelonia mydas, was making occasional, weak movements of its flippers and its head.

Jennifer Yakimishyn, a resource management officer with Parks Canada, applauds the visitor for keeping a safe distance and reporting the sighting.

“Everybody wants to go see it, but it’s always important to keep your distance, because these are stressed animals that may also carry disease,” she explains.

Parks Canada officers transported the hypothermic green sea turtle from the remote beach on Vancouver Island’s southwest coast to Nanaimo on the southeast coast. A team from the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Centre then conveyed the green sea turtle, classified as an endangered species, across the Salish Sea to the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre.

Upon admission at the Centre, the hypothermic green sea turtle registered a body temperature of 11.2 degrees Celsius (52.16 degrees Fahrenheit), almost nine degrees below the endangered species’ normal temperature range of 20 to 25 degrees Celsius (68 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit). The hypothermic green sea turtle was treated for wounds on its hard upper shell, known as a carapace. The stranded turtle, whose sex has not been determined, also was given antibiotics and fluids.

Every day the thermostat is raised by one or two degrees as a slow warming procedure to restore normal body temperature. As of Tuesday, Jan. 26, the hypothermic green sea turtle weighed 35 kilograms (77 pounds) and registered a body temperature over 17.1 degrees Celsius (62.78 degrees Fahrenheit).

As reptiles, green sea turtles are sensitive to external temperatures. “Reptiles are cold-blooded and they completely depend on their external environment to control their body temperature,” explains Dr. Martin Haulena, head veterinarian at the Vancouver Aquarium.

Following a warm current northward is the likely prompt for the hypothermic green sea turtle’s odyssey from warm subtropical or tropical waters to British Columbia’s cool temperate water.

“When they get into water that’s too cold they get hypothermia, also known as cold-stunning. Everything slows down: heart, respiration rates, they can’t swim, they can’t forage -- they get weaker and weaker,” notes Dr. Haulena.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the adult green sea turtle’s exclusively herbivorous diet, favoring algae and seagrasses, distinguishes them from other sea turtles. Their exclusive diet of plants is credited with giving their fat a greenish color. Their common name recognizes this unusual feature.

The normal range for green sea turtles stretches in a latitudinal band of subtropical and tropical waters between 30 degrees north and 30 degrees south. The endangered species coastally inhabits more than 140 countries and nests in over 80 countries. Canada’s Pacific Rim National Park, the site of the hypothermic green sea turtle’s beaching, lies in the temperate zone at 48 degrees north latitude, far north of the species’ normal range.

On Thursday, Jan. 21, officials with Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Parks Canada rescued an adult male, emaciated Guadalupe fur seal, also at Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. The usual home range for Guadalupe fur seals is in the temperate waters around Baja California’s Isla Guadalupe (Guadalupe Island).

While the fur seal remains in critical condition, Dr. Haulena offers a guarded prognosis of recovery for the hypothermic green sea turtle. The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Centre would partner with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in their patient’s release into the wild.

Dr. Haulena suggests that more strandings may occur this winter as El Niño-warmed waters lure more species on out-of-range odysseys. He explains that unusual migrations are “something we see more often during years with above-average sea temperatures, such as during an El Niño period.”

Rescued green sea turtle is being warmed by a few degrees each day for safe reach of normal body temperature of 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit); handout photo provided by Vancouver Aquarium: The Vancouver Sun @VancouverSun, via Twitter Jan. 25, 2016

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

hypothermic endangered green sea turtle recovering at Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre: Vancouver Aquarium @vanaqua, via Facebook Jan. 25, 2016, @ https://www.facebook.com/vanaqua/photos/a.488362465799.267595.7881420799/10153228494995800/

Rescued green sea turtle is being warmed by a few degrees each day for safe reach of normal body temperature of 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit); handout photo provided by Vancouver Aquarium: The Vancouver Sun @VancouverSun, via Twitter Jan. 25, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/VancouverSun/status/691747281608019969

For further information:

Brown, Scott. "Vancouver Aquarium treating tropical sea turtle rescued from B.C. beach." Vancouver Sun > News > Staff Blogs. Jan. 25, 2016.
Available @ https://vancouversun.com/news/staff-blogs/vancouver-aquarium-treating-tropical-sea-turtle-rescued-from-b-c-beach

"Green turtle (Chelonia mydas)." NOAA Fisheries > Protected Resources > Species > Sea Turtles. Updated April 6, 2016.
Available @ http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/green.html

Johnson, Lisa. "Endangered green sea turtle with hypothermia rescued from B.C. Beach." CBC News Canada > British Columbia > Photo Galleries. Jan. 26, 2016.
Available @ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/endangered-sea-turtle-pacific-rim-national-park-1.3419061

Karstens-Smith, Emma. "Threatened seal, endangered sea turtle rescued off Vancouver Island." The Globe and Mail > News > British Columbia. Jan. 25, 2016.
Available @ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/threatened-seal-endangered-sea-turtle-rescued-off-vancouver-island/article28391083/

"Rare Guadalupe Fur Seal Saved in Joint Rescue." AquaBlog. Jan. 22, 2016.
Available @ http://www.aquablog.ca/2016/01/rare-guadalupe-fur-seal-saved-in-joint-rescue/

"Rescued Sea Turtle Found Far From Home." AquaBlog. Jan. 26, 2016.
Available @ http://www.aquablog.ca/2016/01/rescued-sea-turtle-found-far-from-home/

Vancouver Aquarium @vanaqua. "For the second time in a week, a collaborative effort has resulted in the rescue of a southern species from Combers Beach in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve." Facebook. Jan. 25, 2016.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/vanaqua/photos/a.488362465799.267595.7881420799/10153228494995800/

The Vancouver Sun‏ @VancouverSun."Vancouver Aquarium treating tropical sea turtle rescued from B.C. beach." Twitter. Jan. 25, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/VancouverSun/status/691747281608019969