Durban – Jina, the adult loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) with two front flippers bitten off by a shark, who was admitted to uShaka Sea World earlier this year, has been making steady progress.
Jina was admitted after being bitten by a tiger shark on the KZN South Coast.
Members of a local dive charter, Mokarran Dive Charters, who were at sea on Aliwal Shoal at the time of the incident, witnessed the tiger shark turning around and biting her second flipper, after noticing some abnormal behaviour in the water.
uShaka Sea World’s Ann Kunz said: “We are delighted to report that Jina has made steady progress over the past seven months and her stumps have healed well. She has adapted to the compromised state of her flippers and is now able to dive to the bottom of the pool and resurface with ease.
“We are hoping she will continue to thrive and day by day, regain her strength of movement.”
Jina only has one-third of her left flipper left and two-thirds of her right flipper, but she is able to navigate through the water and come to the surface to breathe.
When Jina arrived at uShaka Sea World at the start of January, she was assessed by the resident veterinarian at the South African Association for Marine Biological Research and was found not to be bleeding heavily and appeared to be in good condition, other than the injuries to her flippers.
She was given pain relief and left to rest in a shallow pool. She was given the name Jina which is a name given to conquerors and victors.
By the end of January, Jina was doing remarkably well and other than her wounds which are still healing, she appears to be healthy.
Her wounds were not infected and are healing without any intervention.
Jina spent most of the day either sleeping or in quiet cruise mode.
She would navigate her shallow (1.5m) convalescent pool in the uShaka Sea World turtle rehabilitation facility remarkably well and was left to rest, heal and gain confidence before being moved to deeper pools.
The only time that changed was when she was offered food.
She consumed about 1.5 kgs of fish each day. She was fed squid, hake, prawns and sardines and showed no food preference.
Jina’s injuries were almost the same as Keena, a loggerhead turtle which was admitted on December 27, 2020, with similar injuries. Keena has recovered from her ordeal and although she will never be able to survive on her own, she is a competent resident in the open ocean exhibit.
Daily News