Baby turtles have been continually washing up on Northern Beaches shores as well in the East, since the deluge first hit Sydney on Thursday. It is likely the floods and storms up north have brought the little hatchlings 100s of kilometres south, with more likely to turn up as the wild weather continues.
Manly Observer received reports and photos of a loggerhead turtle at Dee Why on Saturday which sadly did not survive, plus another loggerhead at Bronte and yet another one not yet identified.
This video is a Freshwater Turtle found at Dee Why that has probably been washed up through the overflowing stormwater. It now in the care of Sydney Wildlife Rescue and doing well.
Manly local “Em” volunteers with Australian Seabird Rescue to ensure injured seabirds and turtles receive rehabilitation and eventual return to the wild. With severe flooding up North sending a number of hatchling turtles on a surprise trip down south, Em said they have been washing up exhausted on the beaches. Many are being found at Dee Why Beach but they could turn up anywhere on our shores.
“If you find a hatchling or a turtle please don’t put it back in the water. If it’s on the beach it is exhausted and needs help or it will most likely die. Put it in a container and call Australian Seabird Rescue on 0438 862 676,” she said.
Local man Gerben Van Duyl found the baby loggerhead turtle on Dee Why Beach on Saturday which was being attacked by birds. He took it to the nearby Dee Why Vets who contacted Taronga Zoo’s reptile experts but sadly the little guy did not make it through the night.
But there are more positive reports with Em’s Freshwater turtle responding well with a bit of “r and r” and a number of baby turtles set to go to Australian Seabird Rescue’s special rehab facilities on the Central Coast.
“With the flooding and wild seas, we are getting little turtle hatchlings beached from strong waves and little long neck long turtle hatchlings being carried by flood water to the ocean,” the Rescue centre stated in a post on Saturday night.
Beaches residents are asked to keep an eye out along the shore for the little guys, and if found to scoop them up and call 0438 862 676 as soon as possible.
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Australian Seabird Rescue is a grass-roots community group with a passion for coastal wildlife rescue and conservation. Check out their website and scroll down to the bottom of their page to make a donation. We have no affiliation, we just respect their work.
