A young sea turtle was found with a spear pierced through its left flipper in the popular tourist spot Boracay island yesterday and eventually died from the wound.
Marine biologist Haron Deo Vargas of the municipal government of Malay, Aklan shared photos of the poor creature on Facebook yesterday. In his post, Vargas said that the female sea turtle sustained a wound so deep that it reached her internal organs.
“Green fluid (digested seagrass), blood, and air are coming out from the wound every time she engulf (sic) air,” Vargas wrote.
Vargas told Coconuts Manila in a Facebook message that the sea turtle was found by island hopping operators in the Tambisaan snorkeling area. He said the animal was floating and was very weak while the spear was still attached to her body.
She was brought ashore and someone from the community in the area removed the spear, a move that proved to be fatal, according to the marine biologist.
“[It] is a very bad idea [because] it will agitate the wound and will endanger the life of the animal,” Vargas said.
The island hopping operators called him and they, together with personnel from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, brought the turtle to the Crown Regency Resort and Convention Center for treatment at around 12nn.
There was no veterinarian or proper facilities in the area so all they could do was observe the turtle and cover its wound with a cloth.
Vargas said the turtle, which he estimated was around two years old, was badly hurt.
“When I assessed the turtle, there were already barnacles growing in her, indicating that she was hit two days before she was found. She probably just drifted in the area where she was found,” Vargas said.
Due to the severity of the wound, the turtle died last night at around 8:25pm. According to another Facebook post, the turtle’s body was disposed at around 8:37am this morning.
Vargas said that Boracay is home to a diverse set of sea turtles and that four out of five species that can be found in the Philippines are documented in Boracay. He said he does not know who hurt the turtle and why they would do it and recalled a similar incident in 2017 wherein a sea turtle was found with an arrow on its head.
The marine biologist also spoke out against poaching sea turtles.
“These gentle animals are threatened species already and are protected under Philippine laws. Consuming them is not safe due to [the] presence [of] toxic materials in their meat.”
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