- EDITIONS:
Spanish News Today
Alicante Today
Andalucia Today
PROPERTY SEARCH
ARCHIVED - Rescued loggerhead turtle set free in Bolnuevo
The animal was treated at the Wildlife Recovery Centre in Murcia after becoming tangled in a fishing line
A young loggerhead turtle was released back into the wild on Bolnuevo beach in Mazarrón on Monday September 19 after rehabilitating for several weeks at an animal sanctuary. The endangered animal, which weighs three kilos and is estimated to be about three years old, was spotted by a whale watching boat on August 23. It had become entangled in an illegal net floating in the water in La Azohía, made up of plastic bottles and nylon ropes.
After it was hoisted from the sea, the turtle was moved to the El Valle Centre for the Recovery of Wild Fauna where it was rehydrated and treated with antibiotics and analgesics.
The Minister of Water, Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Environment and Emergencies, Antonio Luengo, attended the releasing and stressed that “interaction with marine litter, either in the form of entanglements in floating marine litter, as is the case, or by ingestion of plastic waste, constitute one of the greatest threats that sea turtles face and become in the main cause of admission of these animals in the Recovery Center”.
The Mayor of Mazarrón, Gaspar Miras, who was also present, recalled the importance of the work being carried out between the different administrations for the conservation of the environment and has shown the willingness of the Town Council of Mazarrón to carry out any type of action concerning the natural environment.
Before it was set free, the turtle was injected with a subcutaneous microchip in its neck and a small metal plate on its right front flipper; this will allow the experts to easily identify it if it happens to be caught again and learn more about its behaviour in the wild such as migratory movements or global threats that affect the survival of the species.
The ‘Turtle Territory’ campaign, which has been running since 2017, focuses on the nesting and conservation the loggerhead turtle in Murcia and group members have managed to identify a considerable number of nesting tracks and identify three nests on the beaches of the Region in the last four years.
The loggerhead sea turtle is classified as ‘Vulnerable’ according to the List of Wild Species under Special Protection Regime and the Spanish Catalogue of Endangered Species and as ‘Endangered’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Image: CARM
Contact Murcia Today: Editorial 966 260 896 /
Office 968 018 268
