An endangered green turtle fitted with a high-tech satellite tracker has been released into Sydney Harbour after life saving rehabilitation.
The 15-year-old turtle named 'Terry' was taken to Taronga Wildlife Hospital in August after being found weak and injured at Terrigal Beach on the NSW Central Coast.
Marine turtles like Terry, who can live to be 100, are endangered and face several threats like boat strikes, entanglement or ingestion of plastic and marine debris.
"Terry came into Taronga's care in a bad way, unable to move his head, with a shell covered in skin lesions and a tummy full of plastic and fishing line," NSW environment minister James Griffin said.
Fewer than one in 1000 green turtles are estimated to survive to adulthood.
With a satellite tracker attached to his carapace, the turtle is the 37th to be released into the wild as part of the Taronga Conservation Society Australia's Turtle Tracking Program.
Taronga Wildlife Hospital rehabilitation manager Libby Hall said tracking juvenile turtles was rare.
"There is still a lot to uncover when it comes to the lives of immature marine turtles prior to when they reach maturity at between 20 and 50 years old," Ms Hall said.
"We have lots of information globally on adult turtles but on the immature turtles, it's called the 'lost years'.
"So, we're supplying that data with this tracking project."
The data shows if the turtles survive post-release and where they're spending time, feeding and resting.
It's not the first time this year NSW researchers have used satellite technology to track endangered animals released back into the wild, with miniature backpacks fitted to plains-wanderers doing the same work in September.
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Ms Hall described the data collected so far as "really interesting", showing just how close the endangered animals were to Sydney locals.
"No wonder they're coming in contact with plastics and marine debris and fishing line because they're really in amongst where the people are," she said.
Established in 2014, the program has helped researchers and conservationists understand more about migratory patterns, key habitat and threats.
Tim Piccione
Tim is a journalist with the Canberra Times covering the ACT courts. He came to the nation's capital via the Daily Advertiser in Wagga. Contact: tim.piccione@canberratimes.com.au.
Tim is a journalist with the Canberra Times covering the ACT courts. He came to the nation's capital via the Daily Advertiser in Wagga. Contact: tim.piccione@canberratimes.com.au.
