Honu (Green Sea Turtle) Slaughtered in Oahu

[ferrari-kun187]

Source: http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/8370/40/ and http://starbulletin.com/2008/07/20/news/story04.html

It was a tearful day on Laniakea Beach. A rope normally placed around a basking turtle circled a make-shift memorial instead for Honey Girl, a green sea turtle that would regularly come ashore to rest at Laniakea.

"This morning I was getting more angry that someone could actually severely slaughter a honu," said Kirsten Plath, a volunteer with a turtle guardian group that educates the public about the honu. She was one of the last people to see Honey Girl alive on the beach Tuesday and she came back out Sunday, along with others from the group, to say good bye.

"I was happy I could make it to the beach today," she said, "just to honor our Honey Girl."

The green sea turtle is an endangered animal protected under federal and state law. Anyone who hurts or harasses them faces heavy fines and possible jail time.

On Saturday, Honey Girl, named for her honey-colored shell, was found in a shallow sandy grave. She had been gutted and one flipper was missing. Volunteers found bits of the turtle floating in the ocean. As a precaution, life guards put up shark warnings.

Ocean safety said the signs were taken down as of 2 pm Sunday and there were no shark sightings reported.

Turtle guardian Patrick Doyle was the one who found the turtle buried upside-down. He says images of the slaughter will remain with him for a long time.

"The belly plate was removed and you could see the clear cuts through her body," he recalled.

Federal officials took the turtle carcass for a necropsy.

A known turtle for years, known as "Honey Baby" by locals was found dead and mutilated and everybody knows that Honu's are endangered. the killer is not yet known.

 

[flyinglilypad]

T_T poor turtle! What kind of heartless sick monster would kill a turtle, especially an endangered one!?

 

[bell02+]

Yeah, um... can they tell that it isn't from an animal? Right now that'd be my first guess as sea turtles aren't necessarily at the top of the food chain.

 

[flyinglilypad]

Yeah, um... can they tell that it isn't from an animal? Right now that'd be my first guess as sea turtles aren't necessarily at the top of the food chain.

It says she'd been coming there for years. It seems like if there were predators of turtles around, she'd have already been killed, or it would be known. Apparently it wasn't a shark.

 

[Yamato-san]

Yeah, um... can they tell that it isn't from an animal? Right now that'd be my first guess as sea turtles aren't necessarily at the top of the food chain.

what kind of animal can remove the belly plate, make clear cuts along its abdomen, and bury it upside down afterwards? I think they can tell this was the work of a human.

 

[QuietDragon]

How horrible...

Why would anybody do anything like that? Honestly?

 

[Irinya]

Oh, my. I spent many years living in Hawaii (more than I lived anywhere anyway...), and I know how special the honus are to the local people. This is just terrible.