Thursday, June 28, 2012

Dead Hawksbill at Kahului Harbor... Still there; Turtle Birthdays at Maui Ocean Center Tomorrow, June 29!

Two days ago, Michelle, one of the ladies with the Turtle Stranding Network, was unable to locate the dead turtle at Kahului Harbor.

So I went back there yesterday to see if it was still there, and yes it was.
It actually got a little worse (I think) because the odor was ridiculously strong... Very stink and nasty...

I took a short video to show that I had propped its head up on some rocks. You can really see the lump on the back of its neck, which I still think is a tumor.

(The following is the video of the dead turtle):



Sorry about the watermark in the middle of the video. I still only have trial versions of the software I need, so please bare with me.

I'm a little hesitant to text Michelle again to see if she picked it up or not. I don't know her in real life as I only got her cellphone number through the TSN.

I also took some more pictures of the turtle to show how bad the cord was wrapped around it....




It's really sad to look at... But things like this happen.

I thought just occurred to me, which I hope I am wrong, but what if this turtle was the victim of poaching?
Since there was no shell, what if someone caught the turtle on purpose, dragged it to shore, ripped its shell off and left it to rot?

Or maybe... it was already caught in those cords, washed up on the shore by itself, and someone else was walking along the beach like I was and stole its shell then?

These are all what ifs... But still, it's sad to think like that...

**On a happier note!**

The Maui Ocean Center is having a birthday party for two of their green sea turtles!
There;s going to be cake for the tourists and guests (while supplies last), they'll be singing happy birthday and they even made a special cake for the turtles to eat!

So tomorrow, June 29, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., will be the celebration for the two green sea turtles~

I'll do my best to get down there to take some photos and get some video, then post it up in the next blog entry!

Thanks so much for reading! BlueMenpachi, signing off~

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