During a beach cleanup at Binningup Beach in June 2024, three Parkfield Primary School students found a stranded loggerhead hatchling and took it to the Dolphin Discovery Centre in Bunbury. The Centre’s public guidance for anyone who finds a stranded turtle is clear: don’t put it back in the ocean; keep it on a wet freshwater towel with room to breathe, and call for help.
What happened at Binningup Beach
PerthNow reported on 18 June 2024 that recent storms had washed a hatchling ashore at Binningup Beach, where students were taking part in a cleanup. The three students brought the turtle to the Dolphin Discovery Centre. They named it Squirtle.
The report described Squirtle as weighing 53 grams and having three flippers. Axel Grossmann, then the Centre’s communications manager, said the hatchling appeared lively and responsive. Those details describe the turtle at the time of the 2024 report; the Centre’s reviewed public pages do not provide a later update on Squirtle’s condition or outcome. PerthNow’s report also quoted Parkfield Primary School teacher Mitch Jefferys saying the children were proud and excited to have made a difference.
The article called Squirtle the first hatchling of the year in the context of that 2024 report. It does not establish that the turtle was the first found in any later year.
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Why hatchlings may wash ashore after storms
The Dolphin Discovery Centre says young turtles can be carried toward the Southwest WA coast by the Leeuwin Current. Grossmann told PerthNow that hatchlings may become caught in seagrass after winter storms. These are explanations offered by the Centre and Grossmann for how young turtles can end up near shore; they do not establish the specific path Squirtle took.
What to do if you find a stranded turtle
The Dolphin Discovery Centre’s turtle guidance says not to return a stranded turtle to the ocean. Instead:
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- Keep it out of the water. The Centre says cold water can be dangerous for stranded turtles, which cannot regulate their body temperature effectively.
- Place it on a wet freshwater towel. Leave space around its head so it can breathe. Avoid unnecessary handling.
- Call for help and follow the responder’s instructions. The Centre’s page lists Dolphin Discovery Centre Bunbury at 9791 3088 and Wildcare at 9474 9055. Contact details can change, so check the Centre’s current turtle guidance before relying on them.
The Centre warns that larger turtles may bite and have sharp spurs on their flippers. Do not attempt to restrain or transport a turtle unless the rescue service instructs you to do so.
How the Dolphin Discovery Centre supports rescued turtles
The Centre says it operates a marine turtle rescue and rehabilitation facility in Southwest WA under a licence from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA). It reports that the program has rehabilitated and released approximately 200 turtles since beginning in the mid-1990s. The Centre says rescued turtles are predominantly young loggerheads.
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According to the Centre, its process includes arranging a veterinary examination and gradually increasing the water temperature in a rescue tank. It may liaise with DBCA, and some turtles requiring more advanced care are sent to Perth Zoo. These are steps in the Centre’s described process, not a guarantee that every rescued turtle follows the same pathway.
Recovery can take months. The Centre’s turtle page says it often takes more than six months; its adoption page describes a six-to-nine-month rehabilitation period. Those are the timelines stated on the respective pages, not a known timeline for Squirtle.
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Survival estimates need context
The Dolphin Discovery Centre’s adoption page gives a figure of one in 1,000 hatchlings surviving from hatching to adulthood. That is the Centre’s published estimate, not a universal rate independently established by the sources cited here. PerthNow also reported a separate estimate from Grossmann that 80 per cent of turtles survive to adulthood after rehabilitation; it was an estimate attributed to him in 2024, not a measured outcome for Squirtle.
Ways to help beyond an emergency
If you find a distressed turtle, contacting the rescue service is the priority; a beach cleanup or donation is not a substitute for reporting an animal in need.
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The Centre’s Storm Chasers project invites people walking beaches, bushland and dog-walking areas to collect rubbish, photograph and report what they gather, dispose of it properly, and watch for distressed wildlife. The Centre says it provides equipment such as gloves, grabbers, bags and sanitiser. Cleanup tools are for litter, not for handling wildlife.
Support turtle rehabilitation
The Centre’s turtle adoption program supports its rescue and rehabilitation work. Its school programs also teach about loggerhead life cycles, turtle rehabilitation and human impacts on marine environments; the available information does not establish that the students’ cleanup was part of one of those formal programs.
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