Thanks to the efforts of the Seattle Aquarium, olive ridley sea turtle Tucker the Turtle, who was found stranded and starving on an Oregon beach in December, is making progress back to good health, and scientists believe that he will be able to return to the wild soon.
Swept from his home waters off the Pacific Coast of Mexico, Tucker was carried north on ocean currents that grew colder and colder than the warm waters he was used to, eventually rendering him inert and unable to swim.
"Basically he turned into a piece of driftwood," said Tim Kuniholm, spokesman for the Seattle Aquarium.
Tucker eventually ended up on Cannon Beach, Ore., where he was left stranded, starving and helpless until he was saved by a beachcomber. From there, he was brought to the Seattle Aquarium, the state's only recognized turtle rehabilitation facility.
When he arrived on Dec. 14, Lesanna Lahner, the aquarium's full-time veterinarian, wasn't even sure that he was alive, so she administered a proof of life test by touching him around the eyes - she observed no response. But when she pinched his tail, he tucked it, proving that he was still alive and landing him a new name.
"He was cold stunned," Lahner said. "His organs were just in a holding pattern. When they are that cold, they are pretty much shut down. He was a particularly challenging case because he was not breathing on his own."
After a long battle, Tucker is recovering from severe pneumonia and is almost back to full health. Currently, he is learning how to swim properly again and will be making his way to a hyperbaric chamber to correct his buoyancy.
"The turtle is getting better daily but is still not healthy enough for travel and release," said Shawn Larson, lead sea turtle rehabilitator at the Seattle Aquarium. "The animal will likely be at the Aquarium for another month or two."
Sea turtles are listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act due to their globally declining numbers.
"Sea turtles are such special creatures; they are beautiful animals, and even though they are fairly common we don't know that much about them," Lahner said. "They're just magical, really."
