Source: Shenzhen Business Daily
On August 27, the wildlife conservation professional and technical personnel of the Coral Conservation Center of the Shenzhen Research Institute of Guangdong Ocean University implanted a chip for the 8 turtles in the hospital. At this point, the sea turtles rescued by Shenzhen have "electronic identity cards" to facilitate later tracking and protection.
Workers implanted chips for the turtles. (Source: Shenzhen Business Daily/Reading Creation)
The first "turtle strong" to be implanted with the chip is the shortest "hospital age" of the coral conservation center, and the turtle was found stranded on the beach at noon on July 30 by employees of China Resources Power (Xiao Desert) Company in the Shenzhen-Shantou Cooperation Zone. On the afternoon of the same day, the Coral Conservation Center sent professional and technical personnel to Xiaomo Bay to carry out rescue operations. The on-site inspection found that the green sea turtle was infected with prolapse, the dorsal carapace was broken from the neck to the tail, and the center of the dorsal carapace had been injured to bone, and the flesh and blood were blurred. Coral Conservation Center staff then transported the green sea turtle back to the Coral Conservation Centre in Dapeng New District, Shenzhen, for "hospitalization."
Turtle and its code. (Source: Shenzhen Business Daily/Reading Creation)
After about a month of treatment, the wound in the center of the "turtle strong" dorsal carapace has basically grown, but because the tail injury is too serious, it still can't swim in the water freely, but it has a good appetite and can eat four or five fish and half a pound of cabbage every day. Therefore, "Turtle Strong" not only has a separate breeding pond "ward", but the water level in the pond is also significantly lower than that of other breeding ponds, which is convenient for it to move half-climb and half-swim.
Zhang Kaifu, who is responsible for taking care of the daily life of the turtles, told reporters that every 3 days, the wounds should be thoroughly disinfected with Amdofu for the "turtle strong" and antibiotics should be used to prevent the occurrence of infection.
"Turtle Strong" has a good relationship with Zhang Kaifu, as long as he stands at the edge of the pool, it will stumble from the other end of the pool. A few days ago, Zhang Kaifu threw two small fish to it, let it eat half full first, and then carried it to the edge of the pool. A professional technician holds a syringe, injects the chip into the right forelimb of the turtle, and then disinfects its injection port; another professional technician holds the scanner and scans it against the right forelimb of the turtle, and the corresponding number of the chip is displayed on the screen.
Liao Baolin, director of the Coral Conservation Center, said that the establishment of a file for each turtle has been initiated and a mechanism will be formed. The archives will include the weight, length and length of the turtle's carapace curve, the width of the curve, where it was rescued, and the circumstances of the rescue process, becoming the "medical record book" of the turtle. "In the future, the relevant files can also be networked, and if this turtle is released into the ocean and then found by other rescuers, it only needs to be scanned to know its basic situation." Liao Baolin introduced.
According to reports, the diameter of the chip is 2.1 mm and the length is 12 mm, which will not affect the activity and health of the turtles. Implanting chips for turtles is a common practice, and the Huidong Sea Turtle National Nature Reserve in Guangdong Province began implanting chips for rescued and repatriated turtles 10 years ago. In 2021, Sansha City, Hainan Province, held the second batch of procuratorial organ public interest litigation on the release of sea turtles involved in the case with the theme of "Protecting Sea Turtles, Guarding the Ocean And We Act Together", and all 160 sea turtles released to the sea were also implanted with chips.
Subsequently, the remaining 7 turtles were implanted with chips. At present, among the 8 sea turtles "in the hospital" of the Coral Conservation Center, there are both green sea turtles, red sea turtles and hawksbill turtles, all of which belong to the national first-class protected animals.
(Author Affilications:Shenzhen Business Daily)
Source: Learning Power Guangdong Learning Platform