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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Maya Yang in Sydney

Tiny, lost and constipated: what a baby turtle told Australian scientists about warming seas

A juvenile loggerhead turtle is released from a boat into the ocean.
BB the loggerhead turtle is satellite tagged and released off Lord Howe Island in New South Wales, Australia, after 10 months in Taronga wildlife hospital. All photographs and videos: Taronga Conservation Society Photograph: Taronga Conservation Society

When Bulwal Bilima (BB for short) first arrived at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, she, or possibly he, was lethargic, badly constipated and dehydrated. Named “strong turtle” in the Aboriginal Dhurga language of the Yuin people on whose land it was found, the tiny 110g loggerhead hatchling, no bigger than a bar of soap, had a fight on its hands.

The baby turtle was found stranded in New South Wales’s Booderee national park last April, much further south than the usual hatching grounds. After days of feeding on squid, sardines and marine vitamins, BB, whose sex cannot be determined until it is fully mature, revived.

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