Hurt ‘Thunder’ and ‘Lightning’ get new lease of life in SeaWorld

The two female turtles, named Thunder and Lightning because they were each stranded after major winter storms, began their recovery at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, and wildlife biologists hope to eventually return them to the wild, according to SeaWorld spokeswoman Kelly Terry. They were flown aboard a C-130 Hercules cargo plane from Oregon to the U.S. 

Naval Base Coronado in San Diego, then transported by truck to SeaWorld’s animal rescue centre nearby to undergo further treatment and rehabilitation. The two-foot long, 36 kg Thunder was mainly suffering from severe hypothermia when found. 

Lightning, also 2 feet long and weighing about 23 kg, was also suffering from hypothermia and she also had injuries to both of her eyes. The two joined a previously rescued Olive Ridley turtle, named Solstice, who was rescued more than a year ago in Oregon and turned over to SeaWorld for rehabilitation. 

“Turtle rehab is a long process,” Terry said. Thunder and Lightning arrived bundled in special packaging, and after being weighed, they were placed together in their own heated salt-water pool, complete with a small underwater shelter at the bottom of the concrete enclosure, and were allowed to swim about their new home. 

Olive Ridleys, listed as an endangered species, range throughout the Pacific, but are seen mostly in tropical and subtropical regions of the world.