Apetahi is an adult green turtle who arrived from the island of Raiatea in April 2016. After an anonymous call, this turtle was found on her back in the corridor of a house under construction, positioned in this way since 48 hours, waiting to be butchered for personal consumption. This turtle was called Apetahi, in reference to the endemic flower, symbol of Raiatea, which is, like sea turtles, an endangered species. With a curved carapace length of 85cm, Apetahi is the largest green turtles we have had in rehabilitation since the creation of the Clinic in 2004. After a few months at the Clinic, the wound caused by a spear gun on top of her head has healed well so our veterinarian and the team agreed on releasing her back to the wild. Because of her unusual size compared to the size class of sea turtle foraging in French Polynesia, we decided to put a satellite tracker on her carapace to be able to follow her movements in her first months of travels.
The release took place on the 24th of September, which was also the celebration of the organisation’s 12th birthday. For the occasion, we invited all volunteers, the Minister for research, and some guests for the release. These moments are what we are all looking forward to when we receive a sick or injured turtle, as it indicates the complete recovery of the turtle and therefore her return into the ocean…
