Brevard Zoo helping a Sea Turtle named Mischief on their rehabilitation journey after losing a flipper to fishing equipment

Derelict fishing gear presents one of the greatest threats to aquatic life. Brevard Zoo is urging everyone to make a difference in the lives of sea turtles ling on our coasts.

The Sea Turtle Healing Center team at Melbourne's Brevarz Zoo is working hard to help a loggerhead named Mischief on their rehabilitation journey after losing a flipper to fishing equipment. 

Mischief came to the zoo in October 2023 after being found by boaters in Sebastian Inlet with their right front flipper entangled in a crab trap line. Unfortunately, the line had cut off circulation to the limb, causing it to die off.  

Brevard Zoo's veterinary team undertook a 6-hour surgery to remove the flipper. Sea turtles have been documented in the ocean living healthy full lives with just three flippers, so the zoo believes that Mischief will be able to do the same.  

Sea turtles’ bodies can quickly heal from the severity of a missing limb – recovery needs to be fast after the trauma of losing a limb to a predator – but sometimes complications arise from this quick healing. Mischief recently underwent another surgery to clean debris and dead muscle from this still-healing wound.  

This sub-adult loggerhead still has a long road ahead of them, and the Healing Center team is prepared to see them return to the ocean.  

Still, the zoo wants to remind commercial and recreational fishers that derelict fishing gear presents one of today’s greatest threats to aquatic life. Anglers should stow their equipment before and after use. 

Everyone can make a difference to the lives of sea turtles, even casual beach-goers or boaters! Bringing your trash home with you after a day enjoying the water or refusing single-use plastics (microplastics is another major threat to sea turtles) are two ways to help this critical species. 

Explore the world of animals at Brevard Zoo, an internationally accredited facility home to giraffe, rhinos, big cats and hundreds of colorful birds!

Brevard Zoo is an independent, not-for-profit organization that receives no recurring government funding for our operating costs. Your generous support enables the zoo to serve the community and continue vital animal wellness, education and conservation programs. 

Discover Brevard Zoo at 8225 North Wickham Road, Melbourne, for more information click here.

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