ABU DHABI // A young hawksbill turtle has been released back into Gulf waters after being nursed to health by the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (Ead), it was announced yesterday.
The turtle was in critical condition when found off the shores of Abu Dhabi a few weeks ago.
Its rehabilitation was carried out at the Bu Tinah Experience dome on Abu Dhabi Corniche, which included a pool for injured and sick turtles rescued from UAE waters.
The turtle, which Ead's experts estimated to be less than a year old, arrived with its shell coated in algae and in barnacles between 10 millimetres and 12mm in diameter, some of which were cutting into its neck and flippers.
The barnacles attach themselves to a turtle's shell and weigh it down, making it hard for the animal to eat and breathe properly.
The baby turtle, which Ead named Amal (Arabic for "hope"), weighed 200 grams, including the barnacles.
The Ead team kept Amal in a freshwater isolation tank, monitored her around the clock and treated her scratches with an iodine-based antiseptic.
She began to eat voraciously as she grew stronger on a diet that included sardines and prawns.
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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
