Alex

Israel's sea turtle monitoring program

A project of Israel Nature and Parks Authrity.

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Species: Loggerhead
Life Stage: Adult
Gender: Male
Release Date: 2018-04-03 11:00:00
Release Location: Ashkelon National Park
Last Location: 2018-09-15 02:42:17

Adoptive Parents:
Maddie Harris

Background

Alex is an adult Loggerhead sea turtle. He arrived to the rescue center in November 2017 after drowning in a trawler net. Upon his arrival Alex was exhausted and his breaths were quick and shallow. Alex life was at threat. The respiratory distress was a clear sign that Alex had indeed taken sea water into his lungs. The rescue center's team preformed a novel resuscitation technique: lung lavage treatment. Alex recuperate quickly and breathed on his own. Alex was then treated with antibiotics to overcome pleural infection complications that is likely to occur in post drowning patients. At the rescue center, for four months the turtle enjoyed a rich diet and medical supervision which included CT scan, X rays, behavioral and blood analysis. Once Alex gained enough weight and his lab results showed healthy lungs he was finally released back to the sea.