Sea turtle in Thailand slipped into a coma after an operation to remove 915 coins from her stomach.
Thailand:
A 25-year-old sea turtle in Thailand slipped into a coma on Sunday after an operation to remove 915 coins from her stomach earlier this month.
The green sea turtle named Omsin, "piggy bank" in Thai, had been finding it hard to swim normally after swallowing 5 kg (11 lb) of coins thrown into her pool for good luck.
Omsin underwent a seven-hour-long operation earlier this month, but concerns rose among Thais after she was rushed to an intensive care unit on Sunday night.
"She is in a coma and breathes very slowly," one of the veterinarians taking care of Omsin told Reuters.
"There's a chance of survival if she can make it through tonight."
Nantarika Chansue, of Chulalongkorn University's veterinary science faculty, urged people to pray for Omsin in a Facebook post on Monday.
Omsin underwent a seven-hour long surgery on March 7 for the removal of about 1000 coins that the reptile had swallowed.
The troubled reptile lived for two decades in a small public park in Chonburi Province.
Visitors tossed coins into her pond seeking to 'make merit' or good luck, a practice vets have urged the public to stop.
"A turtle can live up to 80 years and the belief is that throwing coins into the turtle pond will make the coin thrower live longer," Rungroj Thanawongnuvej, Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Science at Chulalongkorn said in a statement.
"Throwing the coins is more bad karma because it is animal torture," he added.
(With inputs from Reuters)
The green sea turtle named Omsin, "piggy bank" in Thai, had been finding it hard to swim normally after swallowing 5 kg (11 lb) of coins thrown into her pool for good luck.
Omsin underwent a seven-hour-long operation earlier this month, but concerns rose among Thais after she was rushed to an intensive care unit on Sunday night.
"She is in a coma and breathes very slowly," one of the veterinarians taking care of Omsin told Reuters.
"There's a chance of survival if she can make it through tonight."
Nantarika Chansue, of Chulalongkorn University's veterinary science faculty, urged people to pray for Omsin in a Facebook post on Monday.
Omsin underwent a seven-hour long surgery on March 7 for the removal of about 1000 coins that the reptile had swallowed.
The troubled reptile lived for two decades in a small public park in Chonburi Province.
Visitors tossed coins into her pond seeking to 'make merit' or good luck, a practice vets have urged the public to stop.
"A turtle can live up to 80 years and the belief is that throwing coins into the turtle pond will make the coin thrower live longer," Rungroj Thanawongnuvej, Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Science at Chulalongkorn said in a statement.
"Throwing the coins is more bad karma because it is animal torture," he added.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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