ROANOKE ISLAND, N.C. — A green sea turtle by the name of Lucky Duck is now being rehabilitated at the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island, specifically at the Sea Turtle Assistance and Rehabilitation (S.T.A.R.) Center.
The juvenile green sea turtle earned its name from what it has already experienced so far in its life.
"In the X-ray, you can see that Lucky Duck had ingested some plastic pieces and also was a victim of a shark attack," said Leslie Vegas, the animal husbandry curator at the N.C. Aquarium on Roanoke Island.
It's not uncommon for a rescued sea turtle to go through radiographs and x-rays when they are taken to the S.T.A.R. Center at the N.C. Aquarium on Roanoke Island, giving medical teams a better understanding of what the sea creature is going through.
But the results from Lucky Duck's show the man-made and environmental challenges a sea turtle faces in its lifetime.
"What we learned is that it had ingested some plastic. That story is also really important, as far as looking at kind of the plastic pollution crisis that we're going through and the messaging that can go out to the public, as far as reducing plastic usage and those kinds of things to take care of the animals that live in our environment," Vegas shared.
For the N.C. Aquarium on Roanoke Island, the X-ray allows the organization to share a message of the mission they strive for every day.
"We're always hoping to inspire conservation and appreciation for our natural environment and the animals that live there. Lucky Duck is an important story, but it's part of a bigger issue," Vegas said.
There is no current timeline of when Lucky Duck will be able to go back into the ocean; he will be learning how to be a wild turtle again before that can happen.
"We need them to be able to find food on their own, they need to swim appropriately, and basically, what we call just turtle properly. So they need to act like a wild turtle," Vegas explained, "We aim to re-wild them, so get them comfortable with finding that food on their own. We're not just putting it in their mouths, those kinds of things. They have to get used to living on their own again so that they are successful once they are released."
For now, the S.T.A.R. Center is where Lucky Duck will be receiving treatment and recovering.
