“OCEANIA” - Ambassador of the Oceans, Sea Turtles really do fly!

The sun sparkled on the beautiful gold markings and amber shell of “Oceania” a hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata to be exact), as she was gently lowered into the sea from the wooden sailing boat “Buteo”, of the Natural Park of Madeira. The previous night had been spent in a tank shared with two conger eels and two grey triggerfish, at the Aquarium of the Municipal Museum of Funchal. She had arrived in Madeira from Nice, France aboard a flight of TAP Portuguese Airlines who kindly providing the tickets, had allowed her to travel in the passenger compartment. “Oceania”, a jet set sea turtle, was finally braving the ocean!

Like all sea turtle species around the world, the hawksbill, so named for its hawk like head, is on the endangered species list. With an incredibly beautiful hard amber/brown shell, and head and flippers of gold with dark brown patches, it is widely considered the most beautiful of the turtle species, and has in the past been intensively hunted to make turtle shell jewellery and artefacts. Its eggs have been harvested in the nesting areas of many countries. Frequenting the tropical waters of coral reefs, and with an appetite for sponges and other denizens of the reefs, the adults can grow to 90 cm and reach 60 Kg.

As a 6 cm. baby “Oceania” arrived in Paris in 1993, after being illegally smuggled into France by a traveller returning from some “unknown islands”. First at the Society for the Protection of Animals, on the outskirts of Paris, then on August 24th passed on to the Oceanographic Institute of Paris, “Oceania” remained barely a month before travelling again, this time to the Aquarium of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, arriving on September 27th.

Here under the tender care of Dr. Nadia Ounais and Dr. Pierre Gilles, “Oceania” proved she was a survivor, she thrived and further developed her liking for the high life on a gourmet diet of mussels, shrimp, squid and clams. Five years later she had blossomed into the full beauty of her species, 38 cms long and weighing 6.2 Kg. Then MEDASSET - The Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles heard from Dr. Flegra Bentivegna of the Naples Stazione Zoologica - Anton Dohrn, that the Monaco Aquarium, already having one adult hawksbill on exhibit, were trying to find “Oceania” a new home.

MEDASSET, after five months of faxes, emails, telephone calls and planning, with the kind generosity of TAP Air Portugal - Paris Office, a “hotel” booking for a short stay at the Aquarium of Funchal, Madeira, and a passport provided by the International Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), arranged for “Oceania” to once more take to the air. In Funchal she was met by Dr. Thomas Dellinger, co-ordinator of the Section of Marine Biology at the University of Madeira, who together with the Portuguese Society for Herpetology, had arranged for her to continue her travels swimming in the warm waters of her species natural pelagic habitat.

Accompanied by Didier Theron from the Monaco Aquarium she had been photographed at Nice Airport, and her story covered by the Agence Francaise de Presse, articles and photographs appeared in the French language press around the world, and Canal Satellite/Disney Channel asked for details and photographs. Carefully wrapped in sea-water soaked soft towels, placed in a styrofoam box, itself inside 2 wooden crates, she was calm and peaceful during the flight, only showing signs of excitement on landing, rather like human travellers eager to disembark. She had held a photo call on the Marina dockside, a star to a group of journalists and a Television crew, she appeared on the local Tv news programme “Telejournal” and the “Journal da Madeira” published a page long article.

Once aboard the boat, she was tagged and measured for the record. Now, 2-3 miles out from Funchal, in the water awaiting her were divers Dr. Thomas Dellinger, Carla Freitas of the Madeira Sea Turtle Project, cameraman Rui Martins of Rumavideo and Didier Theron, with still more cameras.

As soon as she became accustomed to her surroundings in the ocean, she swam below the surface of the water with regular calm strokes of her flippers in a straight line towards the North-west. The divers swam with her until they ran out of film, then returned to the boat and made their way home, their lives brightened a little by the exotic beauty whose ancestors had dwelt in the early mists of time.

In Greek Mythology “Oceania” was the eldest of the 3,000 daughters of Oceanus and his wife Tethys, nymphs frequenting the seas and shores. She was renowned for her beauty and her good and compassionate heart. We do not know what adventures await this modern “Oceania”, but she will we are sure, like all of her charismatic flagship species, be a fine ambassador of the oceans.

BON VOYAGE, “OCEANIA”!

All this was made possible thanks to:-
The Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles
in collaboration with
The Stazione Zoologica - ‘Anton Dohrn’, Napoli, Italy
Dr. Thomas Dellinger (University of Madeira)
The Aquarium of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco
The Portuguese Society for Herpetology
The Funchal Aquarium of Madeira, Portugal
The Nature Park of Madeira
and last but not least
TAP - Air Portugal.