Turtle Hospital at Reef HQ, Townsville, QLD

Naomi Hender

833501

Word Count: 1254

Special thanks to Joanna Hurford, marketing at Reef HQ who spoke to me on the phone and gave me
a lot of this information first hand. She can be contacted at:

joanna.hurford@gbrmpa.gov.au
Menageries, zoos, and aquaria begin their history as an exotic collection meant to be displayed as a
symbol of status and wealth. Animals have been captured and displayed in various forms and methods
for hundreds of years. Humans feel drawn to animals, and as technology advanced, collections grew,
and keeping methods became more sophisticated. The first aquarium that could sustain marine life
was developed in 1853, and as methods of keeping sea life became more sophisticated, larger aquaria
were developed and founded. The ocean has been the subject of folklore, mystery and wonderment
since the beginning of society. Despite all our countries being explored and discovered, and the ocean
being more trafficked than ever, just five percent of the earth’s oceans have been explored. The ocean
presents to us the great unknown, and the life that is within it creates all sorts of different reactions
in people. Aquatic species are so different to our mammalian relatives, yet so many people find
aquaria and its life to be calming. A visit to the aquarium has been seen to reduce anxiety (Barker &
Wolen 2008). Aquaria remain popular because they provide a look at what very few of us understand.
They show us that there is something greater on earth than human life: the environment we live in.

Reef HQ is located on the shores of the Coral Sea in Townsville, Queensland. The Great Barrier Reef is
home to 6 out of 7 marine turtle species. All turtle
species worldwide are considered as a species of
conservation concern by the International Union for
the Conservation of Nature (Feck & Hamann 2013).
The Turtle Hospital at Reef HQ established in 2008
and officially opened on the 24th of August 2009 to
care for marine turtles that have been injured out in
the ocean. The Turtle Hospital runs as a rehabilitation
facility for injured turtles, and as a method of
Figure 1: Reef HQ location, Townsville, QLD educating the public about how what we do on the
ground affects the life in the ocean. The Turtle Hospital facility is held within the Reef HQ aquarium in
Townsville. Reef HQ was established as a conservation effort for the Great Barrier Reef on 14 June
1987. The main goal of the aquarium is to educate the public about the life in the Great Barrier Reef,
and it has the largest coral reef collection in the world. The hospital is not open to the public, however
there are two daily visitor talks and tours, in which the keepers and facilitators talk about the effects
that human pollution, rubbish, and fishing have had on the marine turtles. In the talks, basic turtle
biology is discussed and the reason for the hospital’s existence is discussed. Marine turtles are long-
lived, and slow to grow and mature, which makes them susceptible to death at early ages. The main
causes for turtle injuries and death in the ocean are getting caught in fishing line, nets and hooks,
ingestion of plastic litter, getting tangled in plastic bags, and being struck by boats. The Turtle Hospital
focuses on raising awareness about the threat that turtles are under and is a promoter of changing
human behaviour to improve the habitat of these turtles (Reef HQ Great Barrier Reef Aquarium 2012).
The Turtle Hospital is not an exhibition, but rather an opportunity for humans to understand how their
actions and the way that they consume on earth affects the lungs of the earth, our oceans. The
Hospital regularly hosts school groups and runs guided tours throughout the hospital, with a heavy
focus on environmental conservation. The turtles are only to be looked after by staff, and visitors can’t
interact, touch, or feed the animals, as most of them are still undergoing treatment. The interaction
of staff members is also limited. Turtles exhibit a variety of personalities, and sometimes, to ease noise
stress or anxiety, the keepers will give the turtles back rubs. Some turtles can recognise blue shirts,
which are the staff uniform, and associate blue shirts with feeding times.

Turtles are less of an interactive animal, and more of an observational animal. A full-grown marine
turtle is striking, and they often weigh more than 100kg. When the turtles are rehabilitated, people
are invited to watch the turtles be released back into the Coral Sea, and there are multiple videos on
YouTube showing the recovered turtle releases. The hospital has treated 250 turtles to date, and Falk
et al. 2007 showed that attitudes towards conservation and preservation were significantly changed
after visiting aquaria, and that it made people realise that they can help change and solve the problem.
When people attend the Turtle Hospital tour, they are generally curious to see these amazing long-
lived wild animals in a close view (Feck & Hamann 2013). When people view these injured turtles, who
can often live as long, or longer than humans, they realise the impact that human pollution has on
turtles. Turtles are very loved and popular, seen in all sorts of arts and culture. When they observe
turtles that are suffering from human impacts, visitors are often sympathetic, and it helps them
change the way they think about plastic. Many school tours have resulted in school children going out
and fundraising for the Turtle Hospital. The hospital is 100% donation funded, and raises funds through
merchandising, and visitor donations. The hospital has just been given a grant that is going to be used
to develop an interactive display about turtles. Despite the inability to physically interact with the
turtles, the emotional response that is experienced by visitors at the hospital leads to greater
environmental awareness and an increased support for sea conservation (Feck & Hamann 2013).
Human animal interactions are completely reliant on the animals to be alive, and for species to be
flourishing. By experiencing the human impacts on a well-loved species such as sea turtles first hand,
visitors change the way they think about how they use plastic in the world and are encouraged to
change their behaviour accordingly. Human animal interactions are not only about whether we can
touch a fluffy dog, or ride an elephant, but the strength of these interactions lies in the emotional
connection we feel with these animals. Most humans have some sort of connection to the sea, and
the Turtle Hospital facilitates a greater understanding of human impacts on marine biology. The Turtle
Hospital facilitates an emotional interaction and connection between the turtles, humans, and the
way that these two interact with the environment. Humans are drawn to animals, so vastly different
than to any other living kingdom. Most people don’t have a connection to a plant, or a flower, or the
grass, but when we see animals suffering, as a direct consequence of human life, it triggers a strong
and emotional reaction to protect those animals, especially such a remarkable species as the marine
turtle.

When I visited Reef HQ in Townsville, last Christmas, I neglected to visit the Turtle Hospital as I was
not there at an appropriate time for the guided tour, however the striking beauty of the Great Barrier
Reef and the hundreds of species it is home to has stayed with me still. The greatest strength that the
Turtle Hospital, and the collection at Reef HQ provides, is not in the way it encourages people to
interact with animals, but rather, in the way that it encourages people to understand the flow-on
effects that their actions have on the ocean, and that what we do here, on earth, affects the health of
our marine life.
References
Barker, SB & Wolen, AR 2008, 'The Benefits of Human-Companion Animal Interaction: A Review',
Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, vol 35, no. 4, pp. 487-495.

Falk, JH, Reinhard, EM, Vernon, CL, Bronnenkant, K, Heimlich, JE & Deans, NL 2007, 'Why Zoos and
Aquariums Matter: Assessing the impact of a visit to a zoo or aquarium', Study, Oregon State
University, 0205843, Association of Zoos & Aquariums, Silver Spring.

Feck, AD & Hamann, M 2013, 'Effect of sea turtle rehabilitation centres in Queensland, AUstralia, on
people's perceptions of conservation', Endangered Species Research, vol 20, no. 1, pp. 153-165.

Reef HQ Great Barrier Reef Aquarium 2012, Turtle Hospital at Reef HQ Aquarium, viewed 18
September 2018, <http://www.reefhq.com.au/turtle-hospital-at-reef-hq-aquarium/>.