Boat strike shatters 150-pound sea turtle’s spinal cord, Hawaii officials say

A massive 150-pound healthy sea turtle had to be euthanized after it was struck by a boat, Hawaii officials said.

The turtle was taken to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration experts to be examined, but it was barely moving. The turtle struggled to breathe and was lethargic, the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources said Friday on Facebook.

A huge wound exposed part of the turtle’s lungs, and its spinal cord was severely injured.

“The turtle’s rear flippers were hyperextended,” Hawaii DLNR said. “The flippers appeared glued together and the turtle was unable to move them.”

Those are clear signs of damage to a turtle’s spinal cord, Veterinarian Gregg Levine told Hawaii DLNR.

“Given the severity of the trauma to the shell and the apparent spinal cord injury, the decision was to humanely euthanize this large, beautiful, and otherwise healthy animal,” Hawaii officials said.

At least 22 green sea turtles have been struck by boats this year in Hawaii, according to the department. They have been struck by propellers, the boats themselves, hydrofoils and other ocean vessels.

Most turtles don’t survive the impact.

“A turtle that is struck by a vessel can sometimes make it to the beach and that’s where we find them either dead or seriously injured,” Irene Kelly, the Sea Turtle Recovery Coordinator, said in the news release. “We’ve had 22 reported sea turtles with boat strike injuries on O‘ahu, Kaua‘i and Maui since March. The most heartbreaking part is that large subadults and adults tend to be most at risk.”

This story was originally published December 11, 2020 at 3:57 PM with the headline "Boat strike shatters 150-pound sea turtle’s spinal cord, Hawaii officials say."