Story by News Ltd.
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TWO LOST sea turtles who found themselves stranded in the chilly waters of South Australia are now just days away from an all-expenses paid relocation flight to sunny Byron Bay.
Janelle, a 32kg green turtle, and Alicia, a 5.5kg juvenile loggerhead, have been recovering for months at the Australian Marine Wildlife Research and Rescue Organisation facility on Torrens Island at Port Adelaide.
Janelle was found on a beach near Robe in October, while Alicia was discovered after being washed ashore at Cape Jervis about a month later.
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Both reptiles were in poor condition — malnourished and covered in algae and barnacles.
AMWRRO’s president and founder Aaron Machado said both Janelle and Alicia were “floaters” — a condition which was usually brought about by the ingestion of plastic or other indigestible materials.
“That’s the most common cause — a foreign body ingestion,” Mr Machado said.
“This blocks up the small intestine, everything backs up inside them and nothing can be digested.
“Gases then develop under the surface of the carapace (shell) and they float like a cork.”
Mr Machado said that once a turtle became a floater it was unable to submerge and was then left at the mercy of oceanic currents and winds.