A rescued small juvenile green turtle, named Coconut, made a splash at the Department of Environment after fully recovering from injuries it sustained last month and being returned to the wild.
The DoE, in a post on its official Facebook page, announced the turtle’s recovery and subsequent release.
Coconut, the DoE said, was found injured on the ironshore last month and rehabilitated.
“The turtle was initially brought to Cayman Turtle Centre where the vets ran a series of checks and found it had a few superficial injuries, some muscle damage and exhaustion,” it explained.
The turtle, who was later named Coconut, was then passed to the DoE’s Turtle Team for rehabilitation.
“Coconut spent 3 weeks resting and feeding until strong enough, and was successfully released on 21st August,” the DoE said.
Turtles are a protected species in the Cayman Islands and staff at the DoE go the extra mile to ensure the safety of these animals.
May to November is turtle nesting season, when sea turtles emerge from the sea at night, lay their eggs in the sand, and return to the water. It is at this time additional support for the turtles is provided, from monitoring nests and nesting turtles to ensuring hatchling survival.
In its Facebook post, the DoE thanked the Cayman Turtle Centre for the free medical checks and food for Coconut, and also “@minniethevet [for] all of your helpful experience-based turtle rehabilitation advice”.
The DoE encourages the public to call or WhatsApp its Turtle Hotline on 938-6378 (938-NEST) at any time, if anyone finds a turtle in distress.
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