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Stranded turtle's 16-hour road trip to recovery

Stranded turtle's 16-hour road trip to recovery

After a call for help, Bunbury wildlife carer Letesha Heslewood drives almost 1,400km to pick up a loggerhead turtle stranded on WA's south-east coast.

A juvenile loggerhead turtle has been found in Esperance, well outside its usual habitat.

Letesha Heslewood drove a 1,400km round trip to bring the turtle back to Bunbury for rehabilitation.

The turtle, nicknamed "Shaggy" for the heavy layer of algae found weighing him down, will hopefully be released next year.

An animal lover has made a 16-hour round trip across southern Western Australia to play taxi driver for a stranded baby turtle.

After spotting an urgent late-night call-out for a volunteer driver, Letesha Heslewood drove nearly 700 kilometres from Bunbury to Esperance to collect the tiny patient and bring him back to the South West city for rehabilitation.

The juvenile loggerhead, nicknamed Shaggy for the thick green algae covering his shell, was spotted floating in seaweed off the Esperance coast and brought to the local wildlife hospital early last week.

Loggerheads are a tropical species, meaning the chilly southern waters leave them dangerously cold and dehydrated, making a fast transfer to specialised care critical.

By the time Ms Heslewood arrived in Esperance, staff were cleaning the algae off the turtle's shell to get him ready for transport.

"When I collected him, he looked picture perfect. He was gorgeous; the colouring on him was outstanding," she said.

The return trip to Bunbury was punctuated by a number of pit stops.

In brief

A juvenile loggerhead turtle has been found in Esperance, well outside its usual habitat. Letesha Heslewood drove a 1,400km round trip to bring the turtle back to Bunbury for rehabilitation. The turtle, nicknamed "Shaggy" for the heavy layer of algae found weighing him down, will hopefully be released next year. An animal lover has made a 16-hour round trip across southern Western Australia to play taxi driver for a stranded baby turtle.

This is the opening of the story, shared with credit to ABC News Australia. The rest of the report — with every detail — continues on the publisher’s website.

Continue reading at ABC News Australia ↗

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