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Loggerhead (Caretta caretta)
Stranding Location: Deewees Island, SC
Arrival Date: 07/05/2018
Age: Adult
Weight: 72.62 kg (160 pounds)
Case History
Professor McGonagall was found by Captain Beau of Barrier Island Eco Tours, and Dewees Island naturalist, Lori. This adult female loggerhead sea turtle was clearly in distress, as she was struggling to dive and swimming in an abnormal pattern. Additionally, McGonagall was missing her entire left front flipper. Luckily, Beau and Lori jumped right to action. They called the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), and, with their guidance, safely pulled McGonagall from the water. Given her large size, they used a line to hoist her into the boat, which was no small feat considering she weighs nearly 200 pounds! They then boated over to the Isle of Palms Marina to meet SCDNR transporters, Mary Pringle and Barb Gobien. Barb and Mary transported McGonagall the rest of the way to the Sea Turtle Care Center (STCC) for treatment.
Treatment
Professor McGonagall was very lethargic when she arrived at the South Carolina Aquarium. She had multiple wounds on all flippers, with distinct jaw marks from a shark on her carapace (top shell). Given her missing front flipper and the location of the wounds, she was most likely attacked by quite a large shark. Sharks, although natural predators of sea turtles, usually do not go after healthy adult loggerheads. Given the severity of her injuries, we speculated that there must be underlying issues. She was underweight, with her shell soft along the outermost scutes and bottom shell. Blood work indicated she was anemic and dehydrated, so she received fluids, vitamins, and was started on antibiotics to prevent any infection from forming in the missing front flipper and associated wounds. The fibrin and tissue on her wounds suggest that this injury occurred approximately a week ago. Vet staff also administered pain medication to help with any discomfort she was feeling from the predator attack. After triage, we placed McGonagall in a shallow water tank down in ICU.
Updates
June 17, 2018: Professor McGonagall is adjusting well to her new home and even began eating the day after admit. However, McGonagall is very quiet and has abnormal buoyancy with her left side listing up. To better access what’s causing her to list, we did a CT scan of her lungs. The CT scan revealed a consolidated and non-functional right lung. It appears that it is filled with fibrin, a pus-like material that is associated with pneumonia. Given the extent of the lung infection, we are battling with a case of extremely severe pneumonia. We will be doing further diagnostics, via bronchoscopy, to confirm it as pneumonia and to figure out if it is viral or bacterial. Prognosis is currently guarded/poor.
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