An endangered sea turtle may soon receive two prosthetic flippers from Kawamura Gishi, Osaka prefecture, Japan's largest manufacturer of prosthetic limbs. The nonprofit Sea Turtle Association of Japan told the AFP news service that it plans to fit prosthetic front flippers to Yu-chan, a 30-in. loggerhead sea turtle who lost her forelimbs in what her caregivers believe was a shark attack. Yu-chan was rescued offthe southwest coast of Japan last summer and sent to heal at the Hiwasa Chelonian Museum-Caretta, an aquarium in Minami, Tokushima prefecture.
Erika Akai, a member of the Association, told AFP, "We need to pay special attention, as the forelimbs will have to be strong enough to [allow her] to climb up a beach." Female loggerhead turtles generally return to the beaches on which they were born to lay eggs every spring.
Akai added, "Since we cannot release her like this, because her swimming capability is only at 60 percent of that of a healthy turtle, we decided to make prosthetic fins for her." The Association set up a "flipper fund" for the project and asked Kawamura Gishi to make the artificial flippers. The Association hopes the project will commence in May, and the asahi.com Japanese news website predicts that the project will cost several million dollars.
A spokeswoman for Kawamura Gishi told AFP, "We are fully aware that it will be a difficult challenge, but we were moved by the passion of the association and decided to take part in the project."
