Sea turtle that ingested balloon ribbon recovering from surgery at New England Aquarium

BOSTON (WHDH) - A sea turtle that ingested a balloon ribbon is recovering at the New England Aquarium after being rescued on Cape Cod last November.

Staff with Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary found the Kemp’s ridley turtle, a critically endangered species, cold-stunned on Ellis Beach in Brewster on Nov. 30, 2021, according to the aquarium.

The turtle had ingested a long balloon ribbon that extended from outside its beak, through its digestive tract, and out its cloaca or posterior opening, the aquarium said.

Part of the ballon was still attached to the ribbon and had already passed through the turtle’s gastrointestinal tract, the aquarium added.

Bob Prescott, who oversees Wellfleet Bay’s sea turtle rescue program, originally thought the balloon ribbon had washed ashore with the turtle when he found it in tidal debris.

“Once I picked it up, I knew this turtle had big problems besides being cold-stunned,” he said. “Having previously necropsied two Kemp’s ridleys that had ingested balloons with ribbons, things can be very complicated internally. It is a great credit to the Aquarium’s triage and veterinary staff that this turtle survived.”

The turtle was transported to the New England Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy, where it was discovered that along with ingesting the ribbon, the turtle was hypothermic, dehydrated, and anemic.

“We knew that this turtle would require surgery to remove the ribbon, but we had to stabilize it for several days before it was strong enough to tolerate general anesthesia,” said Dr. Charles Innis, Director of Animal Health at the New England Aquarium.

On Dec. 8, veterinarians were able to operate on the turtle and removed the roughly 7-foot-long ribbon.

The turtle’s intestine had not yet been severely damaged and it’s recovering well following the procedure, the aquarium said.

It will be released back into the ocean off Cape Cod this summer.

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