Lynn shares her experiences so far....

My second week at the Wildlife Centre has flown by so quickly.  The week started off with a bang and on Monday I finally got to see my very first nesting turtle. She came up on Intendance beach right after our daily beach patrol. 

High-5 on finding a Hawksbill turtle nesting!

I was so impressed by how determined she was to nest at her chosen spot and how methodical she was throughout.  After two hours of toiling she finally made her way back to the sea without so much as a backward glance.  Two days later we stumbled on another turtle already in the process of laying her eggs.  I was ecstatic. We got soaked while observing her and gathering our data but it was all worth it. 

To make it even more special, she was rather reluctant in leaving her nest. When done camouflaging it, she gave it a lingering look as if to bid her little ones goodbye; it was a bittersweet moment. We left in high spirits marvelling at the beauty of it all.

Lynn with her second Turtle encounter

The next day brought even more action to the centre. We got a call from officials of the Ministry of Environment who needed our assistance. The unthinkable had happened; a Hawksbill had gone up to nest on Anse Royale beach during the day and had been injured by a poacher. They had struck her in the face fracturing her jaw and tipped her on her back so that she couldn’t escape. Luckily for her, a good samaritan informed the Greenline and that is how she ended up at our centre.  It was very heartbreaking to see how distressed she was. Her eyes were red and bulging and she was bleeding and quite lethargic. We took her X-Rays to ascertain the extent of her injuries then consulted with our vet who administered antibiotics and painkillers. After that we placed her in our tank where she stayed overnight. We’ve kept a close eye on her; monitoring her progress to see if she could be released into the sea. I am very pleased to say that it looks as if we will be releasing Lady later on today as she is doing so much better. She is now very alert and mobile and the swelling in her eyes have considerably subsided. We did good and can leave the Centre for the day, knowing that we made a difference, no matter how small.

Tough girls carrying the new patient to her tank