Campaign Status
Ongoing Online: The campaign is currently ongoing online, and as a result, the fundraising process continues.
Summary
The campaign aims to transport a sea turtle to Dubai to save its life.
Challenge
Biscuit is an Olive Ridley sea turtle of approximately 3 years old that was found washed up on the shore of an island in North Male Atoll on the 16th of December 2021. When he was found, he was missing his front right flipper and part of both his back flippers, meaning he only had one fully functional flipper. The exact reason why he lost his flippers is unknown, but there are two explanations possible: he either lost them as a result of ghost net entanglement, in which he got entangled so badly that his flippers got amputated, or he lost them as a result of poaching where poachers cut off his flippers for human consumption.
After Biscuit was found, he was brought to Atoll Marine Centre, our turtle rehabilitation center located in Lh. Naifaru in the Maldives. Whilst Biscuit was unable to dive when he was found, he learned how to dive again shortly after his rescue. Now, almost two years after he was found, Biscuit has recovered completely and is a very competent swimmer, as well as a very playful individual who loves the attention of both caretakers and visitors of our marine center. However, due to him only having 1 functional flipper, he cannot be released back to the ocean as his chance of survival will be very low.
With our marine center being a rehabilitation center, our main focus is on helping injured sea turtles on their road to recovery and bringing them back to the ocean as soon as possible. This means that we are not designed to keep sea turtles on the long term, and cannot give sea turtles the enriching life they deserve when they cannot be released.
Solution
Our goal for this campaign is to “give Biscuit wings” and transfer him to Dubai before the end of 2023. When Biscuit arrives in Dubai, he can have a good and enriching life and simultaneously teach people about sea turtle conservation efforts and the main issues that sea turtles are facing which can decrease their chances of survival. As we want to optimize our opportunities to teach people to be more conscious about their actions and how they affect the marine environment around them, we are aiming to make a documentary about Biscuit’s journey so his story can be told all over the world, as well as a children’s book to share Biscuit’s inspirational journey!
To reach this goal, we need to raise 10.000 USD, and every small donation helps! When you support us, you not only help Biscuit fly to Dubai, but you also get to contribute to sea turtle conservation and rehabilitation efforts all over the world, as with every donation we will create an incentive for fishermen to retrieve ghost nets from the ocean and bring them back to land. Additionally, you can see the sea turtle you helped yourself when you get a chance to visit Dubai Aquarium!
Helping Biscuit will not only benefit him. By donating $50, $75, or $100, you will be registered in our turtle adoption program for 3 months, 6 months, or 1 year respectively, where you can get monthly updates of one of the lovely turtles we currently have in our center.
