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A green sea turtle is currently being cared for by the Melbourne Aquarium after being washed up on the Mornington Peninsula: No Cookies | Herald Sun

A GREEN sea turtle that lost its way has found a new home in Melbourne after it was found washed up on Southbeach, Mt Martha.

Lynda Waterhouse and her two grandsons, Deon, 9, and Levi, 7, were walking along the Mt Martha foreshore last week when they stumbled across the 10kg turtle — a long way from the tropical waters in which it is normally found.

After noticing it was not in the best shape, the three took the turtle to a local vet.

“We were just taking a stroll looking for crabs when we saw it lying there in the shallows,” Ms Waterhouse said.

“I had to carry it. It was quite heavy, actually.”


Steve Le Nepveu, a vet at Mt Martha Veterinary Clinic, said he was surprised when the turtle came in and immediately knew he had to contact a more specialised clinic.

Mr Le Nepveu suspected the turtle was suffering from “cold shock”, with symptoms such as low blood sugar levels, extreme fatigue and dehydration.

“We generally deal with cats and dogs,” he said.

“We quickly needed someone with a lot more experience in turtles. Karingal Veterinary Hospital has a specialised reptile hub so my wife ended up doing the mad dash to Karingal,” he said.

“The poor thing was going to be stuck on the rocks if it had not been found and could have died.

“The lady, Lynda, did a grand job.”

The turtle, a male, was later transported to Melbourne Aquarium after vets at the Karingal reptile unit gave the animal emergency care.

According to Katharyn Polan, spokeswoman for sea life at the Melbourne Aquarium, the prognosis of the turtle remained unclear and vets were monitoring the animal’s condition.

“It is unusual for sea turtles to be found so far south — they tend to stick to warmer waters up north,” Ms Polan said.

“Commonly sea turtles end up so far south because they are young and small or already injured or sick and don’t have the strength to swim against the currents.

“They then find the cold waters hard to deal with and tend to get sicker.

“This is when they need our assistance.”

According to Ms Polan, six out of seven species of marine turtles are listed from vulnerable to critically endangered.

“Turtles are facing unprecedented threats in the wild and run a gauntlet of risks just trying to survive,” she added.

“Fishing nets, plastic pollution, boat strikes, habitat loss and coastal development are individually and cumulatively impacting negatively upon turtle numbers around the world.”

After it returns to health, the turtle will be tagged and released into the wild.
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