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Oliver’s Travel

A Report on the Rescue of an Olive Ridley Turtle Baby

Rescue Date: 31 July 2005
Release Date: 01 August 2005

Introduction.

The aftermath of the floods was not over in Surat and South Gujarat Many turtles might have been stranded in the strong estuary overflow as the Bay of Khambhat forms a unique corner near Surat. Two turtles were already rescued and released successfully in the midst of the downpour and we were afraid that we might receive more calls.

Information on a stranded turtle was received on 31 July 2005 at around 10.10 am. A well wisher of “PRAYAS”, Mr. Rajubhai had learnt from some labor contractor working in his construction company that a big turtle was caught by the fishermen residing in a nearby slums of Surat the banks of River Tapi. Mr. Rajubhai immediately informed us about the location and volunteers rushed to the place but the fishermen were adamant to give it to them. It was a dicey situation, as the locality in which the volunteers went is a notorious slum area of Surat and matter can change another unwanted dimensions as easily as the petrol catches fire. A lot of convincing did the trick for us but we had to stick with him in the slums for around 4 hours with all our ideas in negotiation out to practice. The fishermen had found the turtle wondering in the shallow areas of estuary in Tapi Delta.

It was in the afternoon around 3.00 PM when the volunteers of “PRAYAS” were able to pursue the fisherman to get hold of the turtle.

It was a juvenile, we gauged from the size of the shell. It was around 14 Inches in diameter. The Turtle was in a very bad shape and we could learn from the Fisherman that it was out of sea since almost 4 days. They had kept it in a fresh water bucket.

The Turtle was loose and was drooping the head and flippers and heavy eyelids. The eyes were open with great efforts and it was in a very bad shape. Necessary information was passed onto by phone to the C.F. Surat Circle Shri Asari about the rescue. He immediately appreciated the efforts and showed keen interest and support.

Our wildlife knowledge base Mr. Karmaveer Bhatt and also Miss Kadambari of WTI, suggested that if the turtle was weak then it must be allowed to stabilize before release, as immediate release may cost its life. Mr. Karmaveer Bhatt suggested that the turtle must be kept in the estuary water immediately so that the farther deterioration may be prevented. Those were the critical moments for the turtle and we were rushing like anything.

First Aid.

We immediately rushed it to our center and side-by-side sent some volunteers to fetch some saline water from the Tapi river estuary where the water was less muddy and relatively clear. It was tough to find a clear water spot in the estuary. The turtle was in the saline estuary water bath in within 20 minutes from coming into our custody.

It was constantly observed in the bath and also the arrangement was so done that the maximum part of the body remains submerged in the water and the head of the turtle could remain in and out of the water as wanted by the turtle. In this way the turtle could breath with minimum of efforts. It was supported by soft cushion from bottom to prevent any injury and the saline water was constantly poured on the boy that remained out of the water.

It was observed till late night and around 1.00 am on 01 August 2005 the turtle was taken out of water completely. To our surprise it had gained a lot of strength and we were really astonished to see the way it waved its flippers.

Treatment.

A well wisher of “Prayas” who requested anonymity, was contacted who has a special knowledge on marine with a different angle. An aquarium and fish seller who happens to be in touch with us knew well about the marine aquariums and suggested us to keep the turtle in the saline water that he will create out of marine salt and he is experienced as he has such marine life before.

He specially found out marine salt supplier at around midnight, woke him up to convince him to give us some marine salt that the aquarium and fish seller keep to create the marine water bath. Though being his competitor, our volunteer convinced the other fellow and we were able to obtain around 7 Kgs of Marine salt which in the end was going to be very vital in our rescue effort!

According to the fish supplier’s confident knowledge, we prepared a marine water bath at around 1.00 am in night. Two important aspects were taken care while preparing the bath.

The fresh water that was used was from the stock of water to be used in aquarium. This maid sure that the water is not having any free Chlorine which normally is there in high PPM in the Municipal Water Supply. The water that was prepared for the aquarium is normally prepared by keeping water plants inside for some specific time so that the water becomes suitable for the turtle and the marine fishes.
The salinity (Specific Gravity) of the Maine Bath prepared was kept exactly around 1.025 which according to the experience of the aquarium suppler and a well wisher was the exact concentration that a marine turtle like Olive Ridley would feel comfortable in.

This way we were able to transfer the Olive Ridley Baby into safer setup as in was better than prolonged contact with the estuary water that surely would have the pollutants and muddy elements that would cause difficulty to the turtle.

By this time it was around 4.00 am in the morning and no one of us was ready to part from the “OLIVE BABY”. A Brain wave struck a friend of mine at around 4.30 am and he suggested to name the turtle “OLIVER”. It was a fantastic idea and the name stuck to this baby Olive Ridley Turtle, which was small in size but was full of zest for life, reminding us of our childhood story starring “Gulliver”..!

We divided the next days work among us and left for our homes leaving the turtle in the bath. A friend was to bring “Marine Prawns” for feeding “Oliver” and I had the task to coordinate with the forest department and arrange for the release to be made in tune with the receding tides to help “OLIVER” get back with receding waters of estuary.

Feeding

We got to gathered again at 9.00 am next morning and observed the turtle. The turtle seemed to be taking rest but when we touched it, it started to move with great agility trying to come out of the bath and trying to break free. This was very heartening to see. One of rescue team members who had managed to get fresh sea prawns from the market. We first gave the turtle two large ones, and to our surprise the “OLIVER” saw them for a few seconds and straight away gulped both of them one by one, chewing with rapid bites.

This was fantastic and we were awe stuck with the response that we got from “OLIVER”. Then he ate two more. And after half an hour, he finished all six and was almost trying to leap out of the bath. This was exciting! We had never expected this kind of response and we jumped with joy. “Oliver” was ready to go out in the wild, we thought.

Release

The time was fixed at 8.45 pm for release. At this precise time, the flow of the returning tidal waters out of the estuary would be at its peak and that would be the best help for “OLIVER” to take ride on the strong currents that would take him to the main channel and then to the main Arabian Sea and then hopefully to his family which he must be missing so much.

We left for the release point that is 21 KM away from where the turtle was kept. Enroute to our release point, we visited the C.F. of Surat Circle of Forest Department, Shri Asari. He was glad to learn about the whole rescue effort. He bears a special knowledge and experience about Marine Turtles as he has handled operation in the Marine National Park at Jamnagar. He observed “Oliver” and was happy to see the status and condition. In a very hurry, he took a look at the turtle and noted down the patterns and jotted down the measurements and counts of the centrals, laterals and also the scutes. He congratulated our team and also instructed the forest staff to cooperate us fully as they have been earlier. He promised to start a joint project on Marine Turtles of South Gujarat. W felt very encouraging. We headed straight to Hazira for our release point as the time was ticking.

The volunteers simultaneously were asked to prepare the release and the other car was ready with torches that they had to buy in emergency as no one of us had that much of powerful lights. One member of our team, who is professional cameraman, joined us to take coverage. One strong observation left us amazed. When we left the city behind and just entered the coastal patch, “Oliver” suddenly started moving its flippers as if he had smelled the sea! And to our astonishment again, he just wanted to jump out of the window of my car and go out directly in to the sea!

The release point was a secluded point on the tip of the landmass hanging out from the west coast of Surat and that provides an ideal release point for turtle as the Sea and the Tapi river estuary has sort of a meeting point and a border there. In very dark with very low lights we had to move a long way for the shore and also we had to climb down from the reclaimed roadway for the GSPC gas receiving station that receives natural gas directly from the Oil and Gas exploration blocks of Arabian Sea. This point was selected because of the following plus points.

No human Activity for at least 5 kilometers of distance on estuary side and more than 15 kilometers on the bay side.
Meeting point of estuary and the wild sea. An easy access to the Arabian Sea.
Gradual slope of the shore helping “Oliver” get the feel of the same experience that he might have had while hatching out and reaching for the sea for the first time. And if he found difficulty in getting into the sea at the first time, than he had the gradual shoreline to retreat back to and take slow and steady action.
Retreating tide would take him away with lesser efforts.
Water was relatively less muddy and polluted.
No shipping activity, no boats or barges between the main bay and the coast.
Lastly, that was the best we could manage!

Final adieu

We managed to reach the slightly muddy beach with great difficulty and we had to descent the embankment concrete blocks. It was around 50 ft of vertical down with lot of slippery. We safely brought the turtle down and four of us went down on the beach. It was very dark and we could hardly see for 10 ft with our flashlights. The waves crashing gently with the shore made farewell music as we put “Oliver” down with tears in our eyes. It was very difficult to part from that lovely creature and side-by-side the enormous joy of success that we had in the entire rescue operation was phenomenal.

“Oliver” was now trying to fly from our hands! The moment we put down “Oliver” in to the gentle waves welcoming him into the sea, he immediately started crawling and within seconds vanished into the gradually deepening waters. We waited for around half an hour for any glimpses that we might get of him, but he had a long way to go and he was definitely in a great hurry. We returned to Surat at around half past midnight, with no one speaking a word but with very joyful hearts.