All posts by Giana Kase

Adventures in Australia with Koalas and Wallabys

Australia (Vet Tech), Study Abroad

Australia has been the best experience of my life thus far. My most memorable time in Australia was when I had the pleasure of meeting my new best friends Lola the Koala and Abbey and Sully the Wallaby’s. Ever since I landed in Australia all I talked about was being able to hold a Koala, they are probably one of my favorite animals in the animal kingdom. Being able to experience and hold one was hands down one of the best days of my life.

To my surprise the Koala and Wallabys were very soft and friendly. I almost wanted to take one home with me. Since being in Australia and having the pleasure of working and seeing all of the different animals there has really opened my eyes to explore other aspects in education such as wildlife rehabilitation and even zoology. I would be honored to be able to work with creatures such as the ones in Australia everyday. Truly a blessing and the best experience meeting everyone I worked with and the locals I met and having the pleasure to work and meet all the animals. I will definitely be going back!

Truly a great experience today in Cairns #Australia

Australia (Vet Tech), Study Abroad

IMG_4162G’Day Mates,

Today I visited the Turtle hospital where the more sick turtles that will take more time and special care before released back into the wild are kept. There were four turtles kept there. Penny, Woodson, Auntie and Bella. At the hospital I changed each turtles filter and someone cleaned the dirty ones. We prepared each of them special food and only a certain amount for each. Penny the smallest came in for starvation, I had the pleasure of feeding her. A dainty girl, she ate 35 small prawns and only one at a time. Sometimes she would miss the one that I would throw in so  I’d have to pick it up and refeed her it. Bella was the other turtle kept there she came in for floating and she was accidentally speard. Bella was my favorite at the hospital and loved back scratches too. I enjoyed hand feeding the sick turtles at the hospital more because I felt like I was actually contributing to their health to get better and to be transferred to the island and later for release back into wild. Tracy was our team leader and told us how each of the sick turtles came to be at the hospital and how bad of a shape they were in compared to now and it awesome to see what extremes these people go to to make sure they will all make it. Truly a great experience today and I was happy to contribute to them.

Fitzroy Island’s Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre

Australia (Vet Tech)

G’Day Mates,

Today I had the pleasure of going to Fitzroy Island to work at Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre. What an extraordinary place to be working!

I must add first, the people are so nice and welcoming and willing to teach you the proper ways to handle these enormous yet docile creatures. We were taught how to properly feed the turtles that were staying  at the rehab centre and how to clean their tanks. We even were allowed to give  them scratches on their shells, which they really enjoyed.

Jenny, our team leader, took us to each turtle’s tank and gave us a brief history about how they ended up on the island and when they think they can be released back into the wild. My favorite turtle there was Nellie. Nellie is Greenback sea turtle that came into the rehabilitation centre with fibropapillomatosis. It is very common virus in sea turtles, and luckily for Nellie, she did not have them internally and over time they fell off. She is just putting on some extra weight before she is able to be released into wild again.

The experience I had at the island was very rewarding; the people that are there with the turtles every day really  have a special bond with them. It made me feel great to be able to give back and help these turtles stay healthy and be that much closer to being released back into the wild.

Helping Sea Turtles in Cairns, Australia

Australia (Vet Tech), Study Abroad

IMG_4165-1Today I had the pleasure of working on Fitzroy Island at the Turtle Rehabilitation Centre. What an experience it was to see such massive docile giants up close and personal. At the island I was taught how to feed, clean, and the history about each of the turtles at the centre. Jenny our team leader gave a brief history about how each of the turtles ended up at the centre and how long they have been there. Not only that but the people working with the turtles everyday are so welcoming and helpful in teaching you about each turtle, they truly form bonds with some of these turtles and its amazing to see the response they get. My favorite turtle there was named Nellie, Nellie is  a Green back sea turtle common to Florida.  She was brought to centre after having firbopapillomas which is a common herpesvirus to sea turtles. Nellie had an MRI done to make sure that she didn’t have any internally, luckily for Nellie she didn’t and after time they started to fall off. I had the pleasure of feeding Nellie and her favorite things to eat are prawns, squid heads and sardines. I must have fed her over 75 prawns, 31 squid heads and 45 sardines which her total food intake 151! That’s a lot of food in one sitting  if you ask me. After feeding her I had to scoop up all of the little bits she didn’t eat, messy eater if you ask me but I’m not complaining. She enjoys back scratches too and kept coming back for more scratches when I was trying to clean. My other favorite turtle there was named Margaret she also is a a Green back turtle probably the largest I have ever laid eyes on. Her favorite food  is a head of lettuce. The whole experience today was very rewarding for me to be able to learn about the history of each turtle and the people that work with them everyday. They truly form a bond that is so great that it is amazing to see in person, it made me feel great to give back and be able to help these turtles be released back into their environment.