Miraculous discovery after 'dead' turtle found in Queensland canal
The fate of a washed-up, abandoned turtle seemed grim when it was discovered, seemingly dead, on the hot, rocky surface of a dry canal bank.
A resident of Queensland’s Moreton Bay Region spotted the large animal after arriving home from work on Friday afternoon (local time) and immediately phoned the local council for help.
When a worker arrived however, the turtle was found to be very much alive as it moved when he touched it.
“A worker came out to collect the dead animal. When he touched it, the poor thing moved, but was obviously very sick and weak,” the resident wrote in a local community group.
Clinging on to hope the animal may still live to see another day, the council worker waited for a wildlife carer to come and transport the turtle to Australia Zoo in Beerwah, about 30 kilometres away, on the Sunshine Coast.
The carer, Joshua Clark from Wildlife SEQ, sprung into action to get the turtle, later named Davinci, to the zoo’s wildlife hospital as soon as he got the call, according to his partner, Lauren Wildman.
“Thank you to everyone involved in looking out for our beautiful wildlife and to all of our fellow carers, rescuers and transporters who are run off our feet at the moment in what we call trauma season,” she wrote.
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A further update revealed what could have caused the turtle to become so ill and ultimately wash up on dry land.
“Davinci the green sea turtle is currently undergoing treatment at Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital for a mass that was in his left lung; which the specialists believe may have been causing him to float,” Ms Wildman wrote.
“He is expected to make a full recovery and will be able to released back into the wild.
“Thank you again to our lovely community for looking out for all of our native wildlife, and everyone who takes the time to call the relevant numbers. And of course to all of our fellow wildlife carers, transporters and rescuers.”
The miraculous survival story received a huge response from the local community, with more than 800 people reacting to the post.
“Thank you for caring for this beautiful creature,” one person wrote in a comment.
“You’re a good person, thank you,” another said.
“Glad to see there are people still that care, well done,” a third added.
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