A lost little turtle which was found on a Donegal beach last week is said to be making its way back to good health.
The rare loggerhead turtle was discovered by a father and his young daughter at Rosbeg in mid-January. The family brought the reptile to their home and called a number of wildlife experts including Exploris aquarium.
A rescue team was dispatched from Exploris and it was transferred it to their base in Portaferry, County Down.
The turtle was named “Julius Caesar” by the Johnstone family who found it because they believed he was a fighter. Now, the staff are calling it ‘JC’ as they treat it for cold stunning.
An update from the Exploris team reports that JC’s temperature is now within a normal range. The determined little reptile has become more active and is beginning to eat.
The slow and steady recovery continues as JC is kept under close observation, an aquarium spokesperson told the Irish Examiner.
They said: “Although these are positive signs and the prognosis looks good, it could still go the other way.
“We’re treating the turtle with a course of antibiotics. This is as a preventative measure; reptiles generally are asymptomatic when it comes to disease and with the exposure to the extreme cold pneumonia could be a possibility.
“The animal care team are still monitoring the turtle closely.”
Juvenile Loggerhead Turtles should be in the middle of the Atlantic in warm waters where there is plenty of food, not returning to shores until they are approximately 7-12 years old. It is believed that JC may have got caught in a gulf stream, which brought him to the cool waters of Donegal’s coast.
The team member added that JC was not yet well enough to be seen by visitors.
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