Turtle on road to recovery
Stranded, starving and near death, one turtle has kicked off the new year on the slow road to recovery.
The 90-year-old green sea turtle, named Eve, was found stranded at Ocean Grange in Victoria’s east on New Year’s Eve.
Beached for at least 24 hours, covered in barnacles and suffering from dehydration, the malnourished sea creature was transported to Melbourne Aquarium for treatment.
But veterinarians were unsure whether she would survive.
Meet Eve, the endangered green sea turtle making a slow road to recovery. @martinealpins9 has her story in #9NewsAt6 pic.twitter.com/BrFHvtzBrv
— Nine News Melbourne (@9newsmelb) January 23, 2014
Melbourne Aquarium vet Dr Robert Jones said Eve’s condition has improved, but she’s not out of danger yet.
“I’m fairly optimistic, I would say we’re up to 80 to 90 per cent sure that she’ll make it,” Dr Jones told AAP on Thursday.
“The improvement, particularly in the last week, has been very encouraging.”
Eve, who was named after she was discovered on New Year’s Eve, finished her antibiotics course on Wednesday.
Dr Jones said Eve has started to regain her appetite and he is confident she will not need further treatment.
Weighing in at 60kg, and measuring more than one metre long, Eve will undergo more rehabilitation to regain around 10kg in lost weight.
Melbourne Aquarium say they are hopeful she will be strong enough to be released into the wild again by April.