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Sea Turtle Recovering After Washing Up On Oregon Beach

Oregon Coast Aquarium

An endangered sea turtle that washed ashore on the Oregon coast during a thunderstorm last week is recovering. The Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport is caring for the turtle.

The Olive Ridley turtle warmed to 68 degrees as of Wednesday — up 11 degrees from when she arrived at the aquarium’s rehabilitation unit. Aquarium spokeswoman Erin Miller says the turtle's temperature must reach 75 degrees before she can leave triage. Miller says the turtle, nicknamed “Lightning” showed improvement when she was moved to a deeper pool.

Miller: “They put her in there and she immediately started exploring her new environment. She has an air bubble trapped under her shell, which is a common ailment for stranded sea turtles, so she floats at the top of the water but she had the strength to swim down and dive underneath the water’s surface.”
Lightning has opened her right eye, but it's badly damaged. She has yet to open her other eye.
Timothy Ebarb of Pacific City found Lightning last Thursday. He stayed with the turtle for more than two hours while awaiting help.
 

Rachael McDonald is KLCC’s host for All Things Considered on weekday afternoons. She also is the editor of the KLCC Extra, the daily digital newspaper. Rachael has a BA in English from the University of Oregon. She started out in public radio as a newsroom volunteer at KLCC in 2000.
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