Turtle starting to cause a flap

The baby greenback turtle found almost dead on a West Auckland beach is now recovering at Kelly Tarlton's. Photo / Greg Bowker

The rare turtle rescued and nursed in a makeshift emergency room is improving and starting to create a "ruckus".

Kelly Tarlton's curator Andrew Christie has been part of the team looking after the green turtle since it was discovered on Karekare Beach in West Auckland on Sunday.

"He's pretty much the same. We are about to give his little shell a clean," he said yesterday.

"He's looking a little bit improved. We can pick him up and move him and he'll start flapping about and creating a ruckus."

Mr Christie said the endangered reptile had a 50 per cent chance of survival, up from his previous estimate of a 30 per cent chance. "It's looking good but it's still early days."

The turtle continued to alternate between an incubator-style box and a drip yesterday. The box cascaded water over the turtle's shell, and the warmth of the water has been slowly rising over the past four days to raise the reptile's temperature.

Mr Christie said its temperature was up to 21C, a vast improvement from the 11C when it arrived.

He said he did not know the sex of the turtle, as the indicator signs only grew when the turtle was around 15 to 20 years old.

Cindy Inverarity, an Epsom Girls Grammar student, was one of three who found the turtle on Sunday. She said she had named him Franklin after a cartoon she watched as a child.

The Herald's email inbox filled up yesterday with readers' picks for the turtle's name.

Most voted for Yurtle and Happy Flippers and others suggested Flappy Feet, ET, Honu (which is Hawaiian for turtle) and Wee Pacifica.