B2
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2021
Sea turtle found fi ghting for life recovers at aquarium
By LYNDA V. MAPES
Seattle Times
The turtle had been fl oating helpless for
so long, its head and shell were grown over
with algae. Its body temperature had cra-
tered, and it was so weak it could barely
move.
Blown off course by violent storms, a
sea turtle usually at home in warm seas off
the coast of Mexico was found stranded
Nov. 16 by a Makah tribal member on Shi
Shi Beach, a remote and wild stretch of the
tribe’s reservation on the Washington state
coast.
His quick thinking with a phone call to
tribal and federal offi cials ignited a rescue
eff ort starting with a 2 ½-mile hike to pack
the 40-pound turtle out from the beach.
Once back at the tribe’s village at Neah
Bay, Clallam County, the trouble was far
from over: All roads to the reservation had
been washed out by the same storms that
battered the turtle.
A private charter plane was scram-
bled to pick up the turtle and fl y it to Port
Angeles, where it met an animal ambu-
lance from the Seattle-based marine wild-
life research and rescue nonprofi t SR3 for
the drive to the Seattle Aquarium.
The turtle arrived at the aquarium Nov.
17, where a team of fi ve launched round-
the-clock critical care, beginning with a
complete health assessment.
The turtle weighed about half what a
teenage turtle of its size should. Its body
temperature was only 48 degrees when it
should have been around 75 degrees.
Blood tests and ultrasound examination
of the turtle’s heart, kidneys, lungs, diges-
tive tract and fl ippers revealed an animal
that had swollen muscles and a heart rate
of only one beat per minute instead of
the usual 14. The last meal it ate, proba-
bly close to a month earlier, was still in its
digestive tract because its bodily systems
had shut down in the cold water.
With the help of staff from the aquarium
and SR3, the rescue team began raising
the turtle’s temperature by no more than 1
degree every four hours. Raise it too fast,
and the warmth the turtle so needed could
kill. The team also had to work to keep the
turtle breathing.
It was a week before they dared give
the turtle a name: “Shi Shi” (pronounced
Shy-Shy).
On Nov. 19, aquarium staff gently
loaded the turtle onto a fl oat to try a swim
in a tank of saltwater. It was one of the fi rst
times the turtle had been taken out of the
pen set up in a locker room that could be
kept cold enough to avoid heat shock.
Senior aquarium veterinarian Dr. Cait-
Alan Berner/Seattle Times
A rescued sea turtle, now named ‘Shi Shi,’ is lifted from a holding pool by, from left, Angela Smith,
Dr. Caitlin Hadfi eld and Lindy McMorran at the Seattle Aquarium, where it’s receiving critical care.
ANYONE ENCOUNTERING A SEA TURTLE OR MARINE
MAMMAL IN TROUBLE ON THE BEACH SHOULD KEEP
CHILDREN AND PETS AWAY. DO NOT TOUCH THE
ANIMAL, KEEP QUIET SO AS NOT TO STRESS THE
ANIMAL AND CALL THE WEST COAST MARINE MAMMAL
STRANDING NETWORK AT 866-767-6144.
lin Hadfi eld slowly withdrew the fl oat
and carefully let Shi Shi drift, support-
ing the turtle’s head. The turtle blinked,
took a few breaths, barely moved a fl ipper,
as Hadfi eld scooped water with her hand
from the tank and stroked it over the tur-
tle’s heart-shaped, green shell.
“She has gone from mostly dead to a
little bit less mostly dead,” Hadfi eld said.
After a brief couple of turns around the
pool, it was time for the turtle to go back
to the pen and keep warming up, ever so
slowly.
“It is a real privilege to work with sea
turtles, we don’t see them that often,” Had-
fi eld said. “They are beautiful animals,
and very, very tough. If you can imagine
a mammal trying to get through something
like this, they would never survive.”
Hadfi eld had hoped on her morning
rounds that the turtle would be more active
— but she was glad even to see the tur-
tle alive.
Shi Shi was so fragile the turtle had to
be watched around the clock. “She is so
weak,” said Shawn Larson, sitting by the
turtle’s side for the night shift on Nov. 20.
As curator of conservation research at the
aquarium and the rehabilitation program
lead, Larson is a veteran of long nights
alone with fragile animals counting on her.
At that point, the turtle’s temperature
was still only about 63 degrees, and Lar-
son was watching the turtle closely to
make sure Shi Shi was still breathing.
“I already have a connection with
her,” Larson said. While they still don’t
know the turtle’s gender for sure, every-
one working with the turtle called Shi Shi
a her.
“She is just really trusting us to do the
right thing,” Larson said. “She was lucky.
Because from the fi rst minute, everyone
did.”
To be washed up on a remote beach
on a reservation still closed to the public
because of the COVID-19 pandemic made
it all the more remarkable the turtle was
rescued, Larson said. “I feel we are really
giving her the best shot we can, and every-
one is pulling for her.”
The night shift goes quickly, Larson
said, checking the turtle every 10 min-
utes and writing notes. And the turtle was
lovely to be with. “They do have a calm,
wise presence about them,” Larson said.
“We don’t know the stories she could tell,
what she has been through. We are just
hoping we can save her life.”
As of Friday, Shi Shi’s condition con-
tinued to improve. While Shi Shi was
still fragile, Hadfi eld was surprised and
delighted to see the turtle taking longer
swims, even diving to the bottom of the
tank, resting a bit, and then resurfacing.
The care team decided Shi Shi was strong
enough to stay in the pool full time.
Green sea turtles are usually found in
temperate and subtropical Pacifi c waters;
this turtle was probably from the popula-
tion that nests on the beaches of Micho-
acán, Mexico, Hadfi eld said. Because they
can’t regulate their own body tempera-
ture, when turtles are blown off course into
Washington’s chilly waters, they quickly
get into trouble.
Sea turtles are at risk of extinction in
their home waters due to a combination of
threats, including climate change, being
caught in fi shing gear, being hit by boats,
harvesting of turtles and eggs, loss and
degradation of nesting and feeding habi-
tat, ocean pollution and marine debris.
It took a big team of people, including
the Makah tribe, the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, SR3 and the aquar-
ium to get Shi Shi this far — more than a
dozen people in all.
The next milestone is the turtle being
able to eat on its own. If Shi Shi continues
to do well, the turtle will next be moved
to a saltwater tank at SR3’s facility in
Des Moines, said Carey McLean, execu-
tive director and a veterinary nurse for the
nonprofi t. The next stop will be Sea World
in San Diego, and fi nally, when the turtle
is well enough and sea temperatures have
warmed, release back to the wild.
“These turtles are threatened and
endangered worldwide,” Larson said. “It
is important for this animal to get back
into the population.”
With winter not even offi cially started
yet, there could be more strandings.
Anyone encountering a sea turtle or
marine mammal in trouble on the beach
should keep children and pets away. Do
not touch the animal, keep quiet so as
not to stress the animal and call the West
Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network
at 866-767-6144.
SUB-BIDS REQUESTED
READY...
SET...
Astoria School District
Captain Gray School
South Façade Renovation
WINTER TERM
REGISTRATION EVENT
Join us for a one-stop
experience to get you
ready for Winter Term.
CCC staff will set you up
for success and you will
leave enrolled and ready
for classes in January.
• Register for Classes
THURSDAY, DEC 2
3–6 PM
PATRIOT HALL AT
CCC IN ASTORIA
• Join us for food & prizes
Skanska is requesting bid proposals for
Subcontractors to complete the Captain Gray
School South Façade Renovation.
Bids Due: 12/3/21 @ 4PM PST
• Complete your
Admissions Process
Addendum #1 is available to view
in Building Connected
• Explore Financial Aid
Options
• Learn about
College Resources
The Request for Proposals are available here:
https://app.buildingconnected.com/
projects/6171c079e9eef900d0fd4c00/bid-packages
Project Contact:
• No appointment needed
James Ferris
james.ferris@skanska.com
Chad Schlottmann
chad.schlottmann@skanska.com
• Masks required inside
campus buildings
www.clatsopcc .edu
Clatsop Community College is an affirmative action, equal opportunity institution. ADA accessible. For the complete
Non-Discrimination and Accomodations statements, please visit www.clatsopcc.edu/ada.
Clatsop Community College es una institución de igualdad de oportunidades y de discriminación positiva. Para las
declaraciones completas de No-discriminacion y de Ayuda a las personas discapacitadas, por favor visite
www.clatsopcc.edu/ada.
1010 NW Flanders St. Suite 500
Portland, OR 97209
Phone: (503) 382-0900
We are an equal opportunity employer and request sub bids from minority,
women, disadvantaged, and emerging small business enterprises.
23300913
Oregon CCB: 153980