News Forum - Endangered hawksbill turtle saved at Patong Beach now rehabilitating

[Thaiger]

An endangered hawksbill turtle, found stranded at Patong Beach earlier this week, has been taken into the care of the Siritharn Rare Marine Life Rescue Centre, located at Ao Makham on the eastern coast of Phuket. Responding to an alert by the beach lifeguards, officials from the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) quickly … …

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[Karolyn]

I sometimes wonder how they care for this species, even temporarily. Because it's a sponge feeder, and vertebrates that eat sponges, are notoriously difficult to keep alive in captivity. They may eat other prey, but then again, so do spongivorous fishes like regal angels, which have a poor survival rate in aquaria, even though they are adaptable. 

This species is famous as a cautionary tale for paleontologists, by the way. Because their upper beak looks remarkable, and evolved to deal with their diet of sponges - sessile sea animals with skeletons made of glass - yet it has no osteological correlate like you'd expect. If you look at their skulls, you couldn't tell they are ecologically wierd, or had such a hooked beak.