Fitzroy Island, Queensland, Australia
Ten years ago, the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre (CTRC) was founded by some very motivated and passionate people, joining forces to help the plight of injured and sick sea turtles. These ancient mariners of the seas are brought in from the Great Barrier Reef and Cape York Peninsula to this facility to receive care for their different illnesses or injuries.
At the beginning, there was a care facility set up on a vacant block in Cairns through a collaboration with one of the local tourism boat operators
. But soon, there were too many turtles in care and the CTRC had to expand their facilities, and this resulted in more tanks being set up at Fitzroy Island with an education focus - you can tour the facilities here and learn about the turtles and how the CTRC operates.
At Fitzroy Island there are currently 9 turtles in care. Of the 7 species of marine turtles in the world, there are 6 species that call the Great Barrier Reef their home, and 4 different species are currently calling the CTRC on Fitzroy Island their home - these being the green, olive ridley, hawksbill and flatback turtles. The largest green sea turtle here is estimated to be 80-90+ years old. Their reasons for being in care include ghost net entanglement, crocodile attack, starvation, fibro papilloma (which can cause blindness) and floaters disease/syndrome. Some of the patients here will be released in the future with satellite trackers on them so that more can be learnt about these elusive creatures. Others will call this facility their home forever as their injuries may deem them unsuitable for release back into the wild - in which case, they will live out their lives very comfortably with an abundance of food and clean tanks and they will also be utilised for education of the public of the threats to turtles and their existence.
The CTRC relies on the generous support from their volunteers who selflessly give up their time to tend to the turtles and help with their care. The CTRC also relies on the kind donations from their supporters. Without these donations and the assistance given by the volunteers, this facility would not be able to continue. To learn more about the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre, please visit www.cairnsturtlerehab.org
Turtle Hospital of Cairns
Monday, December 07, 2015
Fitzroy Island, Queensland, Australia
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