Nature & Environment
Turtle Endures Shark Attack and Swims with Artificial Flippers (Video)
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Feb 13, 2013 10:37 AM EST
A shark attack may have been the cause of Yu's severe injuries when she was caught in a net in 2008. A 25-year-old loggerhead turtle, both of her front flippers were torn off, leaving her unable to swim. Fortunately, a few animal lovers found the turtle and brought her to the Suma Aqualife Park near Kobe Japan. Now, the loggerhead sea turtle is getting the chance to swim again. She's been fitted with artificial flippers that allow her to propel herself through the water.
The loggerhead turtle is an endangered species, travelling thousands of miles across the ocean in search of food as it follows migration patterns. Sensitive to Earth's magnetic field, the turtles are able to navigate to the place of their birth, laying their eggs on beaches. These turtles are endangered for a reason, though. Beaches where they lay their eggs are being developed, leaving less safe space for them to reproduce. In addition, they must face the dangers of sharks, fishing nets, ships' propellers and warming ocean currents. All of these factors have caused the turtle population to drop.
Creating Yu's flippers was no easy task. Researchers experimented with 27 pairs of artificial limbs, at first attaching them straight to Yu's stumps. This method, though, seemed to pain the sea turtle. The researchers then created a soft vest which attached the rubber flippers. The idea was to create a system that would allow Yu to move freely but keep her unable to slip free of the device. It turns out that it worked. The 220-pound, 32-inch long turtle can now swim through its enclosure with ease.
This isn't the first time that a marine animal has received prosthetic limbs, either. In 2004, a dolphin in Japan received a replacement rubber fin after losing its own due to illness.
Currently, Yu is safe at the aquarium were she's now become a tourist attraction. Researchers estimate that Yu could live to be 50 years old or more.
Want to see Yu with her artificial flippers? Check out the video below, originally appearing here.
See Now:
NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone
©2024 ScienceWorldReport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The window to the world of science news.
More on SCIENCEwr
First Posted: Feb 13, 2013 10:37 AM EST
A shark attack may have been the cause of Yu's severe injuries when she was caught in a net in 2008. A 25-year-old loggerhead turtle, both of her front flippers were torn off, leaving her unable to swim. Fortunately, a few animal lovers found the turtle and brought her to the Suma Aqualife Park near Kobe Japan. Now, the loggerhead sea turtle is getting the chance to swim again. She's been fitted with artificial flippers that allow her to propel herself through the water.
The loggerhead turtle is an endangered species, travelling thousands of miles across the ocean in search of food as it follows migration patterns. Sensitive to Earth's magnetic field, the turtles are able to navigate to the place of their birth, laying their eggs on beaches. These turtles are endangered for a reason, though. Beaches where they lay their eggs are being developed, leaving less safe space for them to reproduce. In addition, they must face the dangers of sharks, fishing nets, ships' propellers and warming ocean currents. All of these factors have caused the turtle population to drop.
Creating Yu's flippers was no easy task. Researchers experimented with 27 pairs of artificial limbs, at first attaching them straight to Yu's stumps. This method, though, seemed to pain the sea turtle. The researchers then created a soft vest which attached the rubber flippers. The idea was to create a system that would allow Yu to move freely but keep her unable to slip free of the device. It turns out that it worked. The 220-pound, 32-inch long turtle can now swim through its enclosure with ease.
This isn't the first time that a marine animal has received prosthetic limbs, either. In 2004, a dolphin in Japan received a replacement rubber fin after losing its own due to illness.
Currently, Yu is safe at the aquarium were she's now become a tourist attraction. Researchers estimate that Yu could live to be 50 years old or more.
Want to see Yu with her artificial flippers? Check out the video below, originally appearing here.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone