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Date Published: 25/05/2021
ARCHIVED - Loggerhead turtle rescued on Malaga beach with mouth full of plastic
The young turtle was found stranded on the playa de la Cizaña and has since been taken to the provincial wildlife recovery centre
Officers from the Nature Protection group of the Policía Local (GRUPRONA) in Malaga have recovered a young Loggerhead sea turtle that was stranded on the playa de la Cizaña and transferred it to the network of recovery centres run by the Andalucían regional government.
The turtle is around eight to ten years old and weighs about 25 kilograms, and was being kept cool and hydrated by a group of young people following instructions from the Recovery Centre for Endangered Marine Species (Centro de Recuperación de Especies Marinas Amenazadas CREMA) who had found it on the beach.
Fortunately when the group found the turtle they contacted the police, who in turn contacted the CREMA team, which is the normal procedure in these cases. Unfortunately, their emergency service unit was attending another call-out and was a considerable distance away from the playa de la Cizaña, so GRUPRONA officers were charged with transferring the animal to the centre, located in the port of Málaga.
Once there, the turtle was submitted to several tests and health checks, and, in addition, veterinarians removed plastic from the mouth and other indigestible remains, of unknown origin, from its digestive system.
The combination of these two factors was preventing the turtle from eating and causing buoyancy problems, as is normally the case when turtles have ingested plastic and rubbish. Jellyfish floating near the surface are a favourite snack for a turtle, but a plastic bag floating in the water looks very much like a jellyfish and hundreds of turtles a year die after filling their stomachs with indigestible plastic and losing their ability to dive and feed, starving to death.
The Loggerhead turtle has since overcome the buoyancy problems it faced and has been able to fully submerge itself in the tank at the centre. However, the animal still has some feeding issues and will remain under CREMA’s care until it gains weight and is eating normally. Hopefully the turtle will be released into its natural habitat at some point during the summer.
This species of turtle (Caretta caretta) is included on the list of animals in danger of extinction due to the fact that their population is declining rapidly, as they face several threats from humans, including fishing, loss of habitat, plastic contamination and climate change.
Although Loggerhead turtles can be found in almost all warm seas and oceans on the planet, the population in the Mediterranean is often young, as this sea is a ‘nursery’ for juvenile members of the species, as well as adults during the summer and spring months.
They can be found in shallow coastal areas, but rarely come ashore, except to build nests and lay eggs, and this species can remain underwater for hours without coming to the surface to breath.
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