Strangers rally to save endangered sea turtle after ultra-rare discovery along B.C. coast
When Sean Hutchinson is boating, he usually avoids getting caught up in kelp beds. But this time he felt compelled to take a closer look.
“I actually did a hard 90-degree turn,” Sean says as he leaves Pedder Bay Marina and points around the bend in the shoreline. “I went over there for whatever reason.”
Sean found the kelp covered in garbage, and started cleaning-up, before making an unexpected discovery.
“A head popped up and looked,” Sean recalls. “It was the ‘Oh my God’ moment.”
It was a sea turtle looking back at him. After spending decades on the ocean, Sean knew the creature was nowhere near native to the area.
“It kind of followed a little bit,” Sean says, before showing photos and video of the turtle floating beside the boat. “It was almost asking for help.”
Seeing as it was a Sunday night, contacting someone official to help proved a challenge. But then Sean remembered hearing about a friend of a friend whose wife was a marine zoologist, and they called Dr. Anna Hall.
“I dropped everything,” Anna recalls with a laugh. “Sunday dinner was still sitting on the counter and I just left.”
When Anna arrived on the ocean, she was surprised to see the sort of turtle you’d typically find in the warm waters around Mexico or Hawaii so close to the frigid coast of B.C.
“It looked like a creature moving towards the end of its life,” Anna says.
After getting the go-ahead from officials, Anna raced to orchestrate a rescue. The turtle was lifted out of the water and into a boat, before more volunteers and onlookers on shore scrambled to borrow a wheelbarrow a secure cushions to create a carrier for the creature when it arrived back at the marina.
“Sure enough, a wheelbarrow does fit in the back of my car with a large sea turtle in it,” Anna smiles.
The turtle's only hope of survival was travelling at least five hours from Metchosin on Vancouver Island to the Vancouver Aquarium on the mainland, all the the while ensuring the creature stayed hydrated and cold.
“We’re driving down the highway with the windows down,” Sean recalls of the cold journey. “I’m spraying the sea turtle (with a spray bottle in the back seat) to keep it wet all the way to BC Ferries.”
Staff at the Swartz Bay terminal stepped up to ensure the rescuers got on the first available ferry, before the turtle was greeted on the mainland by a team from the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society.
- Read more: Rescued sea turtle recovering at Vancouver Aquarium after being found 'cold-stunned' on B.C. coast
“Everybody was so happy the turtle made it to the people who know how to care for her,” Anna smiles.
Now being treated for hypothermia, the turtle has been named Moira. It turns out she is only the second loggerhead turtle ever found in the waters around B.C. While experts can only speculate how the endangered creature made it so far from home, Anna says there’s no doubt that countless strangers, like Sean, are responsible for Moira’s survival.
“People just came together to help a creature they had never seen before, and are probably never going to see again,” Anna smiles. “With any luck (Moira) will return to her home waters one day, because of caring people.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Indigo Books & Music shareholders vote to approve privatization sale
Indigo Books & Music Inc. shareholders have voted to approve a deal that will see the retailer become a private company. The offer of $2.50 per share comes from Trilogy Retail Holdings Inc. and Trilogy Investments L.P., which have a 56 per cent stake in Indigo and are owned by Gerald Schwartz, the spouse of Indigo chief executive Heather Reisman.
Latest deadly weather in U.S. kills at least 20 as storms carve path of ruin across multiple states
Powerful storms killed at least 20 people, injured hundreds and left a wide trail of destruction across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas after obliterating homes and destroying a truck stop where dozens sought shelter during the latest deadly weather to strike the central U.S.
What Canadian grocery shoppers need to know about anticompetitive allegations
Amid mounting outrage over high grocery prices, a retail expert says there's a solution to fostering more competition in the country.
Arrests made in 'highly orchestrated' GTA auto theft operation: police
Peel Regional Police say they have arrested 16 suspects and issued arrest warrant for another 10 individuals in connection with an auto theft investigation carried out by a 'highly orchestrated criminal operation.'
North Korea launched a rocket likely carrying a second spy satellite. It's unclear if successful
North Korea launched a rocket likely carrying its second military spy satellite on Monday night, hours after its announcement of a plan to put a satellite into orbit drew strong rebukes from its neighbours.
She developed a passion for genealogy while finding her roots. Now she helps others find their own
Lauren Robilliard always knew she was adopted. As the B.C. native grew older, she developed a passion for genealogy, tracing her roots and paving the way for a career to help others find their own.
Former 'General Hospital' actor Johnny Wactor fatally shot in Los Angeles
Former 'General Hospital' actor Johnny Wactor was fatally shot in downtown Los Angeles while interrupting thieves Saturday, according to his agent and CNN affiliate KABC.
Israeli attack on Rafah tent camp kills 45, prompts global outcry
An Israeli airstrike triggered a massive blaze killing 45 people in a tent camp in the Gaza city of Rafah, officials said on Monday, prompting an outcry from global leaders who urged the implementation of a World Court ruling to halt Israel's assault.
A cross-country look at beer and wine in convenience stores
By Labour Day weekend, Ontarians of legal drinking age could snag a six-pack at their local convenience store on the way to the cottage. But what are alcohol sales like across the country? Here's what we know.