How to Help an Injured or Stranded Sea Turtle

Shorelines are known for their pristine waters which attract turtles as well as other sea marines. Pollution, environmental degradation, the depletion in coastlines and the deposits of plastics and other garbage on the shores can harm their existence. It is an important matter which cannot be neglected at all. Sea turtles are known to eat almost anything including plastic scraps which can be harmful for their digestion and could result in intestinal blockage. The garbage on the shorelines very often includes fishing hooks which could also be ingested by a turtle and could severely damage it's digestive tract. Such hook if does not pass of in stools, tends to snag up on the intestinal wall, which would eventually rust in a matter of months causing further damage. Sea turtles also get caught in buoy lines, fishing nets and fishing lines. Once a turtle gets caught in such lines, it is very difficult, almost impossible for the turtle to escape through. Turtles can further be injured due to boat hits, which could damage their shells. Such hits can cause severe cuts or deformities on the turtle shell. The sudden strike of boat can also cause a severe damage to lungs or muscle damage.

Usually stranded or injured turtles come across with minor injuries such as a cut or infected flipper, cuts and bruises to the neck or shell. In some cases damage to a turtle could also lead to blood loss or severe bone damage. Most harm is often found happening to sea turtles like Oliver Ridley turtles, green turtles, hawks-bill turtles and even loggerhead turtles. The most prominent cause for injury in turtles is the trash that is dumped into the sea. A huge wave can throw the turtles far away from the sea which can leave them injured and lost. On such occasions we should do our best to help such stranded and injured sea turtles to get back to their home. Here are few tips which can be helpful in helping a injured or stranded sea turtles.

How to Help an Injured or Stranded Sea Turtle

1. If you ever come across a stranded or injured sea turtle, it is best to contact the wildlife control room or the forest department. If you have no contact number of such official, it is best to inform the local police who may have the necessary contact details of such authorities. Share the exact location and other details of injury which you can manage to share out of the best judgement. It is very important to judge the injury which needs to be reported for immediate care and attention.

2. If you come across a nestling female or an injured turtle, it is best to turn off the flashlights and mobile phone camera. Nestling females get scared with too much of light. Few people have a habit of taking selfies with anything they come across, which should at least be avoided in such cases, as camera flash can scare the injured animal more and it may try to move, even if it has an injury which can further aggravate the problem.

3. Do not attempt to touch or move the turtle, if it looks like it is injured. Until you get an idea of the severity of the injury of this turtle, it is better to stay far off and just observe the turtle for any injuries. A sudden movement like trying to move or pick the sea turtle can cause severe damage to its vital organs.

4. If you realize that the injured sea turtle you came across has broken flippers, do not try to move the flippers for further examination, as it could cause severe pain to the animal.

5. Do not try and lift a sea turtle without determining it's actual weight and physical strength. It is possible that you may try to lift the turtle but due to it's heaviness it could slip from your hands, injuring it further.

6. If the sea turtle attempts to pass by to the sea on it's own, allow it to do. Just follow him till it reaches the sea but do not push it unnecessarily. Try and remove any obstacle that is in his way such as plastic bags, chairs, mats. See to it that he has a safe and hurdle free passage. Do not shout and make severe noises. Be quiet and keep a distance. Loud voices can further scare the animal.

7. Do not try and open the mouth of a turtle, as it can bite your fingers or take a chunk out of your skin easily.

8. If you find people crowding around the turtle, please request them to stay away and keep distance.

9. If the sea turtle you found looks dehydrated or seems to be out of water for a long time, arrange to get some sea water with the helps of the onlookers, and pour the sea water slowly on the turtle, to keep him hydrated. You can also soak some towels with sea water and place it close to an injured turtle around it's neck and flippers, till the requested authority makes it's presence and the sea turtle is attended for injuries.

10. If you wonder how to treat a turtle wound it is best to leave it to the experts. Do not try and apply antibiotic or turmeric on the wound of a sea turtle. This application may further aggravate the problem.

The litter is one of the most important problem that needs to be taken care of. Sea waves throw litter from the sea which also gets deposited on the beaches. While walking on the beach if you come across broken fishing nets, fishing hooks or plastic litter, pick them up and throw in the nearest bin. We can play our part as a good Samaritan, which  if helps even one marine animal, then is really worth it.  

Is it Okay to Feed Sunflower Seeds to Parrots

We are often been told to feed sunflower seeds to parrots. The catalog that comes with the bird feeder mentions so. However, if this feeding is limited only to visitor parrots than it is fine to feed them sunflower seeds. But if you are planning to feed these seeds to your pet parrot, you should think about it. Visitor parrots visit once or twice daily for their own measure of feed, and then they also fly and visit other places where they get other foods to eat. But a pet parrot is totally depended on you for the food. And hence he will eat only what you feed him. So if you keep feeding him only sunflower seeds then it may not be good for your pet parrot. Sunflower seeds are actually the seeds in its hull. Three common types that are used in sunflower seeds are linoleic, high oleic and NuSun. Sunflower seeds contain large amounts of carbohydrates and fats. What they lack is the vital nutrients and hence overfeeding the parrots, (here I mean excessive portions of sunflower seeds) only can make the bird overweight and thus will prone to high risk of illness.

 Birds can thus die of heart diseases and liver diseases. Due to lack of vital nutrients, the parrots can also be calcium deficient which would lead to brittle nails and weak bones. Hence you keep your birds healthy, it is important to include calcium rich foods such as small amount of chopped spinach or broccoli. Fresh fruits or a chopped portion of mixed fruits and vegetables such as carrots, apples, guava, can also be a perfect parrot food. This helps the bird to live longer and healthy. Ideal food that your bird feeder should include is mixed portions of bajra (pearl millet), ragi(finger millet), broken rice and sunflower seeds. This way you not only feed parrots but also other small birds such as sparrows.