Good News for a Nonhuman Animal
Sometimes I feel like I’m too much of a downer.
I might have to start making Mondays Good News Day, if I can find enough appropriate news, that is.
Today I celebrate the individual nonhuman animal, one Caretta caretta (loggerhead turtle) named Jezebel. Jezebel arrived at the sea turtle rehabilitation center up the block from me in December of 2006. I started volunteering there a couple of months ago in the "turtle yard," helping to keep the tanks clean and telling visitors about the plight of sea turtles. Turtles come to the center to be rehabbed, then they are released back into the ocean (or a lagoon).
Jezebel’s an adult who had what is either one or two separate injuries at the tail end of her carapace (shell) that is/are likely to be caused by a boat strike or propeller strike, or perhaps the blunt trauma of being stuck in a net and dropped onto the deck of a boat. We weren’t there, so all we can do is guess based on the nature of the wounds.
Though the carapace injury did definitely look bad, Jezebel’s real problem was that she was buoyant, meaning she couldn’t dive. And because loggerheads feed on lobsters, crabs, and other bottom dwellers, she might have to dive hundreds of feet to get her food, and if she can’t even dive 10 inches, she’s certainly not diving hundreds of feet and she’s going to starve to death.
Which is what she was doing when she arrived at the center at 221 pounds.
The staff at the rehab center were unable to determine the cause of Jezebel’s buoyancy, and she remained at the center, hardly moving in her tank. Until very recently.
Jezebel was moved to Mote Marine Laboratory, on the west coast of Florida, where she was put into a much larger, deeper tank than we have and she pulled herself under water and started to swim! Apparently, she is doing so well that she will most likely be released back into the wild.
Check out the blog entries about Jezebel, including lots of photos and a video of her swimming. The story begins after the first entry on the page (about the arrival of two new patients, Rhett and Fido). Actually, that’s where it ends and you should scroll down a couple of posts to start from the beginning.
I know sometimes it can be depressing when you consider the tens of billions of land and sea creatures we slaughter every year for no good reason. For me, to brighten my mood and remind me of all the good we do as vegans, I like to concentrate on an individual and celebrate her life. Today, I celebrate Jezebel!
