Raalhu, meaning “wave” in Dhivehi, is an adult female olive ridley turtle that was spotted drifting just off the resort House Reef, entangled in a ghost net and unable to dive. The Olive Ridley Project team acted quickly to safely retrieve her from the water while working with their veterinary team to assess her condition and determine whether she needed emergency transport to the Rescue Center in Baa Atoll.

ORP rescuing an injured sea turtle at Six Senses Laamu. Photo by Lawrence Menz.

Sadly, upon closer inspection, Raalhu had suffered deep ligature injuries on her front right flipper from an entangled mix of fishing line and plastic mesh, which had also caused her to lose most of her flipper. She also had cuts on her back flipper from a piece of fishing net and had ingested fishing line that, in the worst case, might have been attached to a fishing hook. Needless to say, Raalhu was in poor condition and needed immediate transport to the Rescue Center for further treatment. Despite this, Raalhu showed some incredible fighting spirit and we had no doubt that she would pull through.

Rescued sea turtle Raalhu is flown to the rescue centre via ‘The Flying Turtle"‘ sea plane . Photo by Lawrence Menz.

The very next day, Raalhu flew out on our very own “Flying Turtle” seaplane to Malé and then to Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu in Baa Atoll, where our Rescue Center is based. Following a comprehensive health assessment, Raalhu was transferred to her new enclosure where she is resting and acclimatizing to her new temporary home. A huge thank you to the resort staff that helped in making sure Raalhu was well-looked after before making her trip out of Laamu! We wish Raalhu a speedy recovery and hope to see her returning to the ocean soon!

THE RESCUE STORY OF 'RALHU'