Release and Rescue

26 November 2018
Aquatic Wildlife

WFFT had an action packed Saturday morning with a release and surprise emergency rescue!

Some concerned locals found Salee the samba deer alone in the forest and brought her to their home in Hua Hin. After a week of caring for her, she was surrendered to WFFT. What people often don’t know is that deer will park their babies alone in the forest while they go off to feed a short distance away, eventually returning to their young. People who encounter these fawns will often assume that they have been abandoned when in fact, it is a natural behavior of deer to keep predators away from their young.

Unfortunately, Salee has imprinted onto humans during these early impressionable moments of her life. She is thus unable to be released into the wild. WFFT cared for her for several months and decided to turn her over to the Huay Sai Wildlife Captive Breeding Research Center which has a reputable program for endemic deer. This Saturday morning, we released her in their side enclosure where she will be introduced to a herd of her own kind. She gave our head vet a little nuzzle before heading off to meet her new family.

On our way back to WFFT, we suddenly got a call about an emergency rescue of a “very large Asian softshell turtle”. We didn’t realize just how large until we arrived at the Phetchaburi police station! Bank was cared for at a temple but was surrendered after the monks found him with dog bite wounds and what we later determined to be ulcerative dermatitis. Bank turns out to be 46.5 kg (!), 74 cm in length and 56 cm in width. He is estimated to be more than 50 years old! From our photos here you can see him compared to a baby red-eared slider. We will tend to his wounds and hope for a quick recovery for this wizened turtle!