First preparations underway for Rescue and Information Centre on Boa Vista

As we already announced in our annual report, the establishment of a rescue and information centre for sea turtles on Boa Vista is currently on our to-do list. During night patrols on the beaches, our team repeatedly comes across injured turtles that have been washed ashore, discovered nesting or have fallen into crevices. We also frequently find animals that have become entangled in ghost nets or other rubbish, and have deep cuts to their limbs or necks.

Just a few days ago, a small team of rangers and volunteers had a sad encounter: an abandoned fishing net (‘ghost net’) was washed up on the shore near our Boa Esperança beach protection camp, in which a total of five loggerhead turtles had become entangled. Four of them could still be saved by our team who immediately cut the injured animals out of the net. Unfortunately, all help came too late for the fifth, as it had already washed up dead.

These and similar incidents make it clear how important it is to establish a local centre to provide professional treatment for animals found injured. Other veterinary problems such as parasite infestation or fibropapillomatosis, which occurs in juvenile green sea turtles and causes the animals to die an agonising death due to proliferating tumours in the head and neck region, also highlight the seriousness of the situation. There is an urgent need for treatment on the Cape Verdean island.

Over the past year, we have therefore networked with the British veterinarian Dr Harrison Watler, who will support us in setting up a Sea Turtle Rescue Centre on Boa Vista.

Loggerhead turtle with severe injuries washed up after shark attack (summer 2022)

He recently visited our head office in Cologne to discuss the rescue centre in more detail with our colleagues and Managing Director Dr Hiltrud Cordes. In fact, a large-scale concept is required in order to be able to set up both a medical area for treatments of all kinds and a separate rehabilitation area in the planned rescue centre. Our team used the visit to make introductions to a specialist aquarium construction company and discuss the possibilities of working together.

Turtle trapped in a crevice shortly before being rescued by the Fundação Tartaruga team

In order to get a comprehensive picture of the situation on Boa Vista, Harrison Watler travelled to the island some days ago. During his stay of several days, the dedicated veterinarian planned to talk to the Fundação Tartaruga team about previous scenarios and to get a comprehensive picture. This includes common injuries, the current condition of acutely injured animals in need of medical care, and the local requirements at the various locations.

Do you like the idea of soon being able to help all the sea turtles that we encounter injured or sick during our work on Boa Vista? Then please support us with a capital injection! No matter how much money you are able to give, we are delighted to receive your donation.

Harrison Watler und Adilson and Adilson Ramos (Coordinator Dog and Drone Team) carry a lost turtle back to the beach