A young Kemp?s ridley turtle ? the world?s most endangered sea turtle ? is recovering in a “hospital pool” after an operation at the National Aquarium in Baltimore.
The turtle was found last week in the Chesapeake Bay near Hooper Island with a recreational fishing hook embedded in its throat and was transported to the Baltimore Aquarium?s Marine Animal Rescue Program for surgery.
In a 45-minute procedure Friday, veterinarians used a device called a “dehooker” to remove the hook from the turtle?s mouth, said Jenny Yates, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore Aquarium.
Saving an injured member of an endangered species is “a huge task,” Yates said.
“They are so endangered that each individualmakes a difference,” she said.
According to the Marine Turtle Newsletter, in 2000, there were only about 6,000 Kemp?s ridley turtle nests. The turtles are endangered because they only have one nesting site, in Rancho Nuevo, Mexico.
Yates said approximately 15,000 sea turtles, including Kemp?s ridleys, enter the Chesapeake Bay each summer.
The turtle found last week has as a 20-inch-long back shell, which weighs 29 pounds. It was underweight and dehydrated when it was rescued, most likely because of the hook lodged in its mouth, the Department of Natural Resources said. Officials at the DNR said the turtle was a juvenile and that its sex is currently undetectable.
The Marine Animal Rescue Program responds to about 30 strandings each year, and about half of the animals it cares for have been injured by human activities like fishing, Yates said.
“That?s a pretty impressive number and obviously what we are seeing is a small portion of what?s out there,” she said.
The turtle will stay in the Aquarium until all its wounds heal, it resumes normal feeding behaviors and gains weight. It will then be released back into the Bay, Yates said.
