PAGADIAN
CITY, Zamboanga del Sur, Sept. 14 (PNA) -- The green sea turtle named
“Maamo" (Tamed) rescued 21 days ago by fishermen with severe head trauma
is responding well “to treatment and is now recuperating.”
This
was announced by Roservirico Tan, Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR) regional information officer, citing Maamo is now recuperating
at the marine facility of the Zamboanga State Colleges of Marine Sciences and
Technology (ZSCMST) in Zamboanga City.
Maamo
was rescued by fishermen on August 24 in the seawaters of Naga in the nearby
Zamboanga Sibugay province and was turned over to coast guard personnel based
in the said town.
The
coast guard personnel reported to the Naga Municipal Environment Officer, who
in turn informed the DENR regional office.
Tan
said Maamo was taken on August 25 to the ZSCMST’s marine facility in Zamboanga
City and underwent a five-hour surgery spearheaded by neurosurgeon Gaudencio
Ligutom, Dr. Anton Mari Lim, a veterinary doctor, and volunteers of the Tzu Chi
Foundation, a non-government organization.
Tan
said the consensus of the agency’s joint team of protected area management and
biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management specialist and biologist is
that Maamo was first hit by a boat propeller and subsequently received blunt
force trauma to the head as “X-ray results ruled out gunshot wounds.”
He said
the joint team is regularly monitoring the health of Maamo who is now at the
marine facility of the ZSCMST in Zamboanga City.
Maamo
weighs about 140 kilograms and measures approximately 120 by 92 centimeters and
“now marked with Tag No. PH-0170-J.
The
green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), which Maamo belongs, is listed as an
endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and
Fauna.
In the
Philippines, it is illegal to collect, harm and or kill green sea turtles
pursuant to Republic Act 9147 otherwise known as the “Wildlife Resources
Conservation and Protection Act.”
Meanwhile,
Tan said the DENR in coordination with the police and coast guard are
conducting investigations to identify the people that inflicted injury to
Maamo.
Tan
said charges for violation of R.A. 9147 will be filed against the perpetrators,
once identified. (PNA)
JBP/TPGJR/HIROHITO
D. CADION
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