A sea turtle weighing more than 50 kilogrammes was found stranded on Patong Beach in Phuket today, September 3. The animal was weak and exhausted. It lay on the shore in Patong subdistrict, in Kathu district.
Jiraporn Wijit was walking along Patong Beach at around 6am and spotted the turtle on the sand, Khaosod English reported. She then alerted lifeguards stationed at the beach.
The lifeguards moved the turtle away from the shoreline. They gave the animal first aid. They also kept its condition under watch while help was arranged.
The lifeguards contacted the Siritharn Rare Marine Animal Rescue Centre to take over the animal’s care. The centre is based at the Upper Andaman Marine and Coastal Resources Research Centre in Laem Phanwa, Wichit subdistrict, Muang Phuket district.
According to The Phuket News and Thai Rath, the turtle was due to be handed over to the Sireetarn team for a health examination and any necessary treatment, though the two outlets differed on whether this had already happened by the time of publication.
The plan is for the centre to care for the turtle until it has recovered enough to be released back into the wild.
The reported cause of the stranding is not known. No injury or illness has been confirmed by the rescue centre.
Stranded and injured sea turtles have been reported on Phuket’s beaches several times in recent years. In September 2024, lifeguards at Bang Tao Beach in Thalang district found a 30-kilogramme turtle too weak to swim, also with no visible injuries, and again contacted marine rescue teams for its care.
Other cases in the area have involved turtles entangled in fishing nets, with rescuers on Phuket having freed and treated turtles caught in discarded netting, though not every animal survives such injuries.
Marine officials in the region have also responded to related incidents involving other protected species, including a decomposed dugong found on the island, whose death was determined likely due to natural causes rather than human interference.
Related News:
- Phuket: Lifeguards rush to save turtle washed ashore in Thalang
- Hooked turtle rescued in Phuket as another dies from net injury
- Decomposed dugong found in Phuket likely died of natural causes
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