When he saw that a huge sea turtle was clearly injured and had difficulty swimming, an underwater photographer decided to save the animal. A story of a race against the clock … and a ‘turtle ambulance’.
It was mid -March when underwater photographer Mike Papish spotted an injured sea turtle near Alligator Reef, a coral reef along the Florida Keys. The animal had difficulty swimming and had visible injuries. “I saw that his vin was seriously damaged and his face was also hit. It looked like a shark attack,” said underwater photographer Mike Papish.
To bring the 146 kilos of heavy thick turtle to the surface, Papic needed some friends. The turtle, which was baptized Lenny, was then taken to the coast by boat, after which he was transported by ‘turtle ambulance’ to the Turtle Hospital in Marathon (Florida). That is a small non-profit organization that focuses on the rehabilitation of endangered sea turtles, the only one of its kind in Florida.
As soon as Lenny arrived, manager Bette Zirkelbach knew that it was a race against the clock. “There are not many predators who can get their mouths around such a large turtle, we assume that it must have been a very big shark,” said Zirkelbach.
One in a thousand
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, only one in a thousand young people from sea turtles reach the adult age. Although Lenny was seriously injured, his survival was crucial for the next generation of his kind. “Such turtles have a hard time when they just crawl out of the egg,” says Zircelbach. “From scratching about birds to fishing, they eat just about all of them baby turtles. Two bites of a red ant are enough to kill a young animal. If you realize that and know what Lenny had to endure to save it, you know he has defeated the statistics.”
In the Turtle Hospital all sails were added to save Lenny. For a few weeks he was treated, including with infusions and antibiotics, until he was eventually healthy enough to return to the sea. At the end of March, Lenny was returned to the reef where he was found, with his savior who swam behind him. “He looked around when I took a final photo,” said Papish. “And he waved again.”