Durban - North, the loggerhead turtle which was rescued off the Durban beachfront on Tuesday has died, despite undergoing surgery on Thursday morning to remove her left front flipper.
Her flipper had become gangrenous after it was entangled in a fishing line which had cut off the blood supply.
Despite the efforts of veterinary staff at uShaka Marine World, North did not make it through the night and succumbed to her injury.
UShaka Sea World's Senior Aquarist, Malini Pather was hopeful that North would make a full recovery because many turtles had been able to survive in the wild without one flipper.
North was the first turtle to undergo an amputation at uShaka Sea World.
The turtle had been placed under anaesthesia, her forearm bone was removed and the blood vessels were sutured. Thereafter, her muscle bellies were stitched over her shoulder socket and the skin stitched closed.
Pather said they expected the wound to seal and they would make sure North did not get a secondary infection from the injury.
After surgery she had been placed on pain medication and antibiotics and other things to help manage her discomfort.
Pather said North seemed like a fighter and she hoped she was going to be fine.
The South African Association for Marine Biological Research (Saambr) said although North's post-surgery was good, her condition slowly deteriorated.
Turtles do not show clinical signs as strongly as mammals which make diagnosis and veterinary support a medical challenge.
North will undergo an autopsy later this afternoon.
Daily News