THE turtle now in the custody of the wildlife department. 
THE turtle now in the custody of the wildlife department. 

KARACHI: The ailing turtle recently rescued from Clifton’s shoreline by the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-P) was handed over to the wildlife department on Tuesday.

The green turtle, according to the WWF-P, reportedly suffers from Bubble Butt Syndrome due to which it couldn’t be released back into the sea.

“The turtle is now at our facility at Hawkesbay where we will provide it with the best possible therapy for at least 10 to 15 days,” said conservator wildlife Javed Mahar.

Explaining further, he said the turtle would be kept in a shallow seawater pond for a few days for detailed examination as well as for helping the animal recover naturally.

“An X-ray would be carried out to assess the exact nature of its disability. Besides, the department is also seeking advice from local and international experts to ensure the turtle’s survival,” he said.

Mr Mahar, however, expressed his dismay over what he described as “irresponsible conduct” of WWF-P.

“It’s unfortunate that despite being well aware of provincial wildlife laws, they didn’t bother to take the department on board during the whole process and kept it under their custody without informing us,” he said.

The department, he pointed out, was the custodian of wildlife in the province and any organisation or individual intending to keep local endangered species in their custody should get permission from it.

“At the time of handover, the WWF-P staff didn’t share information with us about any disability the turtle might have. We read about this Bubble Butt Syndrome in a newspaper,” he said.

It might be recalled that a WWF-P team spotted a large female green turtle floating near the shore last Sunday morning when they were surveying the Clifton beach to assess the status of a dolphin that had gotten stranded a day earlier in shallow waters.

The organisation stated that the turtle couldn’t be released back into the sea because it seemed to be suffering from Bubble Butt Syndrome.

The syndrome, according to experts, develops when an air pocket forms under a turtle’s shell. It causes them to float at the top of the ocean which puts its survival at risk as they need to dive to the seafloor to feed.

The disability is believed to be caused by a boat strike, which damages internal organs of a turtle.

Four species of marine turtles are known to exist in Pakistan. The commonly occurring green turtles nest on different sandy beaches, including Sandspit, Hawkesbay, Paradise Point, Tag (Ormara), Astola Island, Gwadar and Daran (Jiwani).

Another species, the olive ridley turtle, used to nest on the Pakistani beaches but there was no authentic record of their presence for more than a decade till 2013 when WWF-P studies showed that a large population of this turtle existed in the offshore waters of Pakistan.

A few live specimens of leatherback and hawksbill turtles have been reported from the coast of Balochistan over the last three years.

All turtles including those found in fresh water are endangered and protected in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2019

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