Aquarium fights to get disabled turtle swimming again

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
KOBE, Japan (Reuters) - Life looked grim for Yu, a loggerhead turtle, when she washed up in a Japanese fishing net five years ago, her front flippers shredded after a brutal encounter with a shark.

Now keepers at an aquarium in the western Japanese city of Kobe are looking for a high-tech solution that will allow the 25-year-old turtle to swim normally again after years of labor and 27 models of prosthetic fins behind them without achieving their goal.

Yu, weighing 103 kg (227 pounds) and 82 cm (32 inches) long, first came to the attention of keepers at the Suma Aqualife Park in Kobe after she was rushed there from a port on the southern island of Shikoku in 2008.

"She was in a really bad way. More than half her fins were gone and she was bleeding, her body covered with shark bites," said Naoki Kamezaki, the park's director general.

After nursing the loggerhead - an endangered species - back to health, keepers enlisted the help of researchers and a local prosthetics-maker to get her swimming again.

Early versions of prosthetic flippers caused her pain or fell off quickly, and with money short, Kamezaki said he sometimes felt like packing it in.

"There have been times I wanted to give up and just fix her up the best we can and throw her back in," he told Reuters. "Then if luck's on her side she'll be fine, if not, she'll get eaten and that's just life. The way of nature, I suppose."

The latest version - made of rubber and fixed together with a material used in diving wetsuits - was unveiled on February 11 and proclaimed a success, with Yu swimming smoothly around her tank.

But on Friday, one flipper slipped out as soon as she hit the water, forcing keepers back to the laboratory again.

Though Kamezaki admits that it's unlikely Yu will ever live a normal turtle life, he still has hopes.

"My dream for her is that one day she can use her prosthetic fins to swim to the surface, walk about, and dig a proper hole to lay her eggs in," Kamezaki said.

"When her children hatch, well, I just feel that would make all the trauma in her life worthwhile."

(Reporting by Ruairidh Villar, writing by Elaine Lies, editing by Paul Casciato)

View the original article here

Aquarium fights to get disabled still swimming turtle

KOBE, Japan (Reuters)-life looked grim for Yu, a Loggerhead turtle, when washed in a Japanese fishing nets five years ago, its front fins shredded after a brutal encounter with a shark.

Now an aquarium keepers to the Western Japanese city of Kobe are looking for a high-tech solution that will allow the turtle 25-year-old to swim normally after years of work and 27 prosthetic fin models behind them without reaching their goal.

Yu, weight 103 kg (227 kilos) and 82 cm (32 inches) in length, first came to the attention of keepers at the Suma Aqualife Park in Kobe after she rushed there from a southern port on the island of Shikoku in 2008.

"She was in a really bad way. More than half its fins were gone and she was bleeding, his body covered with shark bites, said Naoki Kamezaki, Director of the Park.

After nursing Caretta-an endangered species-back to health, keepers enlisted the help of researchers and a local prosthetics maker to get her swimming again.

Early versions of prosthetic fins caused pain or fell quickly, and on a shoestring, Kamezaki said that sometimes it felt like packing.

"There were times that I wanted to give up and just her Fix as well as possible and throw her back in," told Reuters. "So if luck on her side that she will be fine, if not, she'll get eaten and that is just life. The way of nature, I suppose. "

The latest version-fixed and rubber together with a material used in wetsuits-was presented the 11 February and proclaimed a success, with Yu swimming smoothly around the tank.

But on Friday, a Pinball slipped out just hit the water, forcing even the keepers back to the laboratory.

Although Kamezaki admits that Yu is unlikely to ever live a normal life, turtle still has hopes.

"My dream for her is that one day she can use her prosthetic fins for swimming on the surface, walking around and dig a hole to lay her eggs in," said Kamezaki.

"When the children hatch, well, just feel that would make all the traumas of its useful life.

(Reporting by Paola Villar, writing by Elaine Lies, editing by Paul Casciato)

View the original article here