Turtle’s life saved in nick of time

Presence of mind shown by a group of animal rescuers and efforts of a veterinarian managed to save the life of an Indian star turtle, a rare species, late on Saturday. Ninja, as the turtle is now lovingly christened, is recuperating in the clinic of Dr Deepa Katyal, a veterinarian who opened her clinic late on Saturday, in order to operate on the turtle that had been bitten by rats and suffered maggot infection.

The incident took place on Saturday night at Grant Road when Bird and Animal Helpline, a group of rescuers, received a distress call from one of the societies about spotting a juvenile Indian star turtle in a miserable condition. When the rescuers rushed to the spot to check on the turtle, they found that it was badly injured and in dire need of medical help.

A veterinarian accompanying the group, after checking the condition of the turtle, suggested them to go to Dr Katyal’s clinic in Chembur. As the clinic is open only between 11 am to 6 pm on weekends, the veterinarian contacted Dr Katyal and told her about the condition of Ninja.

The rescuers also shared the pictures of Ninja to inform Dr Katyal about the condition, after which she asked them to bring it to her home in Chembur.

After checking Ninja’s condition, Dr Katyal took it to her clinic around 10 pm. Talking about the treatment, Dr Katyal said since the turtle was about two to three months old and a large part of its body was eaten by rats, its life was in danger.

“I gave it painkillers and antibiotics and operated upon it on Sunday morning,” said Dr Katyal.

“Thankfully I had a special formula, prepared overseas during my animal pain management programme, which helped the turtle to stabilise,” she further added.

After being hydrated throughout the night after every two hours and due to timely treatment, Ninja’s condition stabilised in the morning.

“I am fostering the turtle right now and it’s kept under observation. We are praying for its speedy recovery,” said Dr Katyal.