Anchor's Away

We have a new patient at the Riverhead Foundation.  He is a 25lb loggerhead turtle we got from Canarsie of all places.  Loggerhead turtles grow to be about 3 feet long and 250lbs and are considered an endagered species.

Poor Anchor managed to eat some food that was attached to a fishing pole and the hook got stuck in his throat.

Turtle phots and xrays are from the Riverhead Foundation's Facebook page

The hook has since been removed but he's not quite ready to eat on his own.  He's being tube fed a lovely slurry of herring.   If you've never seen a fish slurry it looks and smells something like this.....

Today I helped assist his feeds.  Basically that means my job is to hold him and keep him from whacking us to death with his flippers.  Lunch went rather well.  He was very cranky about being out of the water and held but he kept his lunch down.  Sadly it seems Anchor couldn't wait to pee till I put him back in the tank.  This makes it officially 3 sea turtle species that have peed on me.  I am starting to feel like a seasoned pro.



Second feed went a little differently.  First of all he spit back up some of his dinner.  On my shirt.  Then he pooped.  On my shirt.  Really dude?   I think he snickered at me when I put him back in his tank.