A weak and hypothermic sea turtle is recovering after being rescued near Port Alberni.
It’s the fourth olive ridley sea turtle on record in B.C. waters. The turtles are usually found in tropical and subtropical waters.
“He’s not out of the woods yet,” said Lindsaye Akhurst, manager of the Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Centre.
The adult male turtle, nicknamed Berni, “has a long road to recovery, but he is responding to treatment.”
“Once he’s stabilized, we will work closely with Canadian and U.S. authorities to get the permits that allow him to be released, in warmer waters,” Akhurst said.
The olive ridley sea turtle is the second smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles but is still considered to be a vulnerable species.
Berni was recovered from Alberni Inlet on Monday and transported by Fisheries and Oceans Canada staff to Parksville, where he was handed over to members of the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre.
The turtle is about three feet in length and two feet wide and about 59 pounds.
Berni had a “dangerously low” temperature of 11 C, well below the ideal of 20 C, when he was rescued Tuesday. By Thursday afternoon, his temperature had risen to just over 17 C.
“His temperature is coming up, so that’s great and he is showing some responsiveness and we are getting him slowly warmed up to the low to mid 20s,” Arkhurst said.
Dr. Martin Haulena, head veterinarian for the Vancouver Aquarium, said Berni appeared to be “cold-stunned” or hypothermic.
Turtles are cold-blooded and depend on their environment to control their body temperature, Haulena said. When that environment is too cold, the heart and respiration rates slow down, leaving the turtles unable to swim or forage. They become weak and vulnerable to predators.
Berni is only the second olive ridley sea turtle to be treated at the recovery centre.
The other, admitted into the centre in 2011, was in poor shape and never recovered from being cold-stunned, Akhurst said.
Cold-stunning can result in pneumonia so Berni was initially treated with antibiotics.
Berni’s recovery plan involves gradually raising his temperature using the ambient temperature of the hospital.
He is currently “drydocked,” sitting on a foam pad out of the water, and receiving fluids to treat dehydration. Additional diagnostic testing, including bloodwork, ultrasound and radiographs, are also being performed.
Arkhurst said it’s hard to say how the turtle ended up in Port Alberni.
Experts at the aquarium suggest the sea turtle might have found its way into B.C. waters because of what’s known as “the blob” — a warmer-than-usual area of water in the Pacific Ocean just off the coast of North America.
Warmer waters can increase the chance of algae blooms forming and bring foreign organisms.
Experts also reason that above-average sea temperatures can prompt unusual migrations — sea turtles from Mexico and Central America will sometimes ride warm-water currents into the cooler B.C. coastal region.
The olive ridley sea turtle is classified as vulnerable worldwide by the World Conservation Union Red List, according to the Vancouver Aquarium. Its mass nesting behaviour can be seen in nature documentaries where thousands of females gravitate to the same few beaches to lay their eggs in conical nests.
Berni’s recovery is encouraging, said Arkhurst, “but we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves.”
The turtle’s symptoms will continue to be treated, she said. If the recovery centre can make plans to release it in warmer waters, “that will be a great ending to a fantastic story.”
