Rescued turtle in Davao del Sur found to have ingested plastics
By Ivy Tejano
DAVAO CITY – Personnel of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Digos City and Davao del Sur province with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) rescued a green sea turtle in Santa Cruz town.
According to the World Wildlife Organization, the green turtle is one of the largest sea turtles and the only herbivore among the different species.
Green sea turtle species is one of the five sea turtles known to occur in the Philippines along with Hawksbill, Olive Ridley, Loggerhead and Leatherback.
In the official Facebook page of the DENR-Davao, it said that days after the rescue, the seemingly-weak green turtle was transferred to the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park in Davao City.
The green turtle was later found to have ingested plastic trash as it has been continuously excreting plastics for three days. Plastics have been a devastating impact on sea turtles.
DENR-Davao said that with the guidance of the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park’s in-house veterinary, full vitamins were intravenously given to the turtle to help restore its good condition.
DENR-Davao Protected Area Management and Biodiversity Conservation Section head Marigelaine Arguillas said that they thanked the PCG as they have gone beyond their call of duty to rescue the green turtle.
“Every day they would swim in the ocean to get seaweeds for the turtle to eat,” Arguillas said.
She also said that the PCG men also provided some of their shirts and towels so the turtle will be comfortable during its transfer from Digos City to Cleanergy Park in Davao City.
The DENR-Davao has reminded the public that killing, collecting, trading, hunting, and other related activities that pose a threat to these species is punishable by the law.
Republic Act 9147 otherwise known as the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act is an act that provides the conservation and protection of wildlife resources and their habitats.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Green and Loggerhead turtles are categorized as endangered species.
On the other hand, the Olive ridley and Leatherback turtles are categorized as vulnerable. The Hawksbill turtle is categorized as critically-endangered species.