Jules, President of Te Ara O Te Onu ( the Cook Islands sea turtle society) and owner of Ariki Adventures, along with the Ministry of Marine Resources and the Te Are Manu vet clinic have in the past 18 months been involved in the rescue of a critically endangered Hawksbill sea turtle.
The turtle was originally rescued from a fishing net in Muri Beach in January 2021.
The turtle spent its first night in a paddling pool outside the room of the resort Jules and her husband Kave were staying in for their wedding anniversary.
With A lack of facilities for turtle rescue on the Island, Barry and Jade who own Ocean Escape resort reached out to Jules, as being in Covid lockdown with no guests, they offered their saltwater resort pool.
The turtle was then taken for rehab and care. With the help of the vets and MMR and the society the turtle had a luxury pool all to itself as it slowly recovered. After taking in a lot of air in its entanglement in the net it had lost its ability to dive.
After a couple of weeks of TLC from all involved, it was time to let her go.
She was released into the Lagoon with the blessing of Pa Ariki.
Sadly, almost a year to the day, she was washed up on Muri Beach, this time she did not survive. The vets performed a necropsy which did not reveal any unusual findings or objects. She was buried in the sand at Jules and Kave’s home, on the edge of the lagoon, with the sound of the waves.
All involved sad to hear of her passing, were still grateful she had another year exploring our ocean.
Earlier this year, another Hawksbill again was found on Muri Beach. Cared for by Steph, ( Te ara O te Onu Vice President) at her Discovery Wildlife Centre. Sadly, this one didn’t survive a couple of days.
Te ara O Te onu is a non-profit organization, with the aim of education, research and protection for the Cook Island Sea Turtles and in its infancy. With a long way to go.
Grateful to MMR, Te Are Manu and Oceans Escape and the Discovery Centre, and all of those who have given up their time to help out with these beautiful animals.
The growth of turtle tours here in Rarotonga is hopefully also helping tourists to be alerted to the dangers and threats to our marine wildlife, and take home not just souviniers or photos, but education on how to help protect our environment and those that call it home.
