A rare, endangered turtle was plucked from a Coquitlam lake last week after it had chomped down on a fishing hook, according to the Wildlife Rescue Association of B.C.
A pair of diligent Coquitlam residents first spotted the Western painted turtle in Lost Lake in Mundy Park about a month ago. It had a corroded fishing hook stuck in its mouth below its left eye, and after watching a few people try unsuccessfully to unstick the turtle, the duo fished it from the lake and brought it to Wildlife Rescue.
Staff there pulled the un-barbed hook from the turtle鈥檚 mouth and although the support structure around its eye had been damaged, it is expected to recover.
Wildlife rehabilitator Chelsea Roberts said in a news release it was the second Western painted turtle staff had seen with a hook in its mouth in just a couple weeks.
鈥淚t is always difficult to see an animal suffer, but it is even more frustrating to see how difficult it is to save a protected species from man-made harm,鈥� she said.
Roberts advised in an email that anyone who accidentally catches a turtle should bring it to Wildlife Rescue staff.
The Lost Lake turtle will be used as part of a captive breeding program when it recovers from its injury.
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