By: Summer Kennard
On a bright afternoon in Palau, Marine Law officials carried a blue cooler into the Palau National Aquaculture Center. Inside lay an injured hawksbill sea turtle—its bright, alert eyes peering up at us despite a grievous wound. Its right forelimb had been severed, the bone exposed, tangled in a fishing line. The turtle made no sound, resting quietly as though assessing this new chapter of its journey.
The first steps of care were simple yet vital: disinfecting the wound and transferring the turtle into a calm holding tank where the water’s temperature, salinity, and flow could be carefully adjusted. No tissue was removed, and no antibiotics were administered. Instead, clean water and patience became the foundations of its treatment.
Carlos, a specialist with the Taiwan Technical Mission, took the lead in caring for the turtle—cleaning the wound, monitoring its condition, and providing the medication it needed to begin recovery. “Sometimes the best treatment isn’t complicated,” Carlos explained. “Clean water and patience can do a lot.”
His steady attention gave the animal the best possible chance to heal.
During the first days, the turtle remained at the bottom of the tank, uninterested in food. We offered small pieces of shrimp, later introducing squid and sardines, rotating them to provide balanced nutrition. At the end of the first week, it finally accepted its first shrimp—a quiet but powerful turning point. “The moment it finally bit into that shrimp, I knew this little one wanted to live,” Carlos said. “After that, everything changed—it became more active, breathing steadier, and its eyes just lit up.”
By the second week, the turtle began developing a new way of swimming—using its remaining forelimb in coordination with its hind flippers. The movement was unorthodox but increasingly steady. Over the following weeks, its wound closed, appetite strengthened, and health stabilized. By the seventh week, the turtle had fully healed.
Yet the sea posed a challenge. With only one forelimb, surviving in open waters would be nearly impossible. That realization brought back memories of a past collaboration with Yalap from Palau Pacific Resort, who had once welcomed rabbitfish fry into his resort’s ornamental pond. When contacted, Yalap readily agreed to provide the turtle with a permanent, safe home in the resort’s ecological pond.
When the day of release arrived, the skies opened with heavy rain. Droplets drummed against the pond’s surface as the turtle slipped into its new environment, moving gracefully despite its loss. “It felt symbolic,” Carlos reflected. “This turtle had been through so much, and here it was, still moving forward.”
This small survivor had endured storms and hardship, yet pressed forward with quiet strength.
Hawksbill turtles are critically endangered, and each individual matters deeply to the survival of the species. This turtle’s story is not just one of rehabilitation, but of resilience and hope. As we watched the rain fall and ripples spread across the pond, we wished for clearer days ahead not only for this one turtle, but for Palau’s marine ecosystems as a whole.