Maggie The Turtle With One Flipper To Become New Ambassador Against Marine Debris

Maggie, a courageous turtle who lost one of her flippers and parts of others after being entangled in marine debris, has just become Nature Trust’s latest ambassador.

An innocent stakeholder in the world we have created, Maggie can be considered a victim of unjust crimes. She was rescued on 9th June 2019 after getting caught in marine debris that cut off blood flow to her flippers, losing one front flipper and parts of the two back flippers in the process.

Now, Maggie is on the track of becoming Nature Trust’s ambassador against marine debris, so people can visualise the damage done to marine biodiversity because of irresponsible dumping into the sea.

She was found severely undernourished roughly eight kilometres out of Marsaskala by fishermen. She was rushed to St. Simon veterinary clinic where Dr Grupetta placed her on medication.

“After months of rehab, we started some physiotherapy exercises to get her to be able to swim and adapt to her one flipper situation.”

“She initially was placed in a very shallow tank as she could not swim well. However, after therapy, she started moving around and eventually adapted to some diving,” Nature Trust President Vincent Attard told Lovin Malta.

Due to her injuries which will forever affect her, Maggie will never be able to survive in the wild again. The next step is to create a safe space for Maggie to live out her life. Nature Trust is looking to set up a fundraiser for the installation of a big tank at their new Wildlife Rehab Centre at Xrobb l-Għaġin.

It is also in the planning stages to provide Maggie with a set of prosthetics that might enable her to live more comfortably. Help has been offered by one of the leading prosthetists on the Island. Once the procedure and cost are verified, fundraising will start.

If you wish to donate some funds or volunteer some time to help Nature Trust, you can do so here.