A green sea turtle has made its way from the ocean into an Australian river surprising both fishermen and animal experts. . The 12kg sea turtle, believed to be about 10 years old, was found in the Hunter River at East Maitland, Australia, yesterday morning about 1500km from its natural habitat off the coast of Townsville.
Maitland fishermen David Pitman and Jimmy Hill found the turtle floating at 11am while fishing near Mr Hill's Pitnacree Road home. At first the men thought the turtle was dead.
"We thought the turtle was dead and floating around but when he poked his head out we went and rescued him because we knew he was definitely in the wrong spot," Mr Pitman said.
"I mean, as fishermen we see a lot of smaller, long legged turtles but this was definitely a sea water creature - we just couldn't believe it.
"We even spoke to some older men who have been fishing in the area for more than 50 years and they said they had not seen anything like it."
And the experts couldn't agree more.
Sea turtle co-ordinator with the National Parks and Wildlife Trust Audrey Koosmen said the creature probably travelled on a warm water current from the ocean.
"Green sea turtles have showed up on occasion in Newcastle Harbour but we've never found one this far up," Ms Koosmen said. "I can't believe it travelled this far - thank goodness the men discovered it."
But all is not well with the city's newest resident.
A vet in Raymond Terrace has diagnosed with turtle with a blood disorder and the creature is gravely ill. "The turtle is quite sick and diseased which is a shame because these guys can live to be 80 or 100 years old," Ms Koosmen said.
However, if the turtle does survive it will be sent to Taronga Zoo in Sydney for rehabilitation before being tagged and released.
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