.jpg)
Nearly a week after having an 8-pound tumor removed from his face, a green sea turtle nicknamed "Hearty" was returned to his home at Makena Landing on Thursday evening.
"It was very uplifting," said marine turtle researcher George Balazs, who participated in the release and the surgery on the turtle.
As researchers and volunteers, including the group Ocean Defenders Hawai'i, eased the turtle into hip-deep water, the adult male apparently was pleased to be back in the wild.
"The turtle took off like a rocket ship," said Balazs, leader of the Marine Turtle Research program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center.
Balazs said Friday that what made this release special was that this was the second turtle in his program since the mid-'80s that researchers could really help by removing a massive tumor and set it up for hopefully a healthy future.
He said that a lot of times not too much can be done for the tumor-plagued turtles his program receives, as the turtles might be too far gone to help.
Balazs said that in Hearty's case a lot of signs pointed to a possible positive outcome.
For one, the tumor had minimal invasion in the turtle's mouth, and the single massive tumor on his face had a relatively narrow stalk attachment, which was removable with the possibility of a good outcome.
Posted via http://batavia08.posterous.com batavia08's posterous
No comments:
Post a Comment