Two children on board a fishing boat spotted a “clearly weak” turtle near the mouth of Torrevieja´s International Marina on Wednesday, which resulted in an adult passenger of a recreational craft calling the 112 emergency coordination centre who immediately implemented a rescue protocol.
The turtle, which are an endangered species, measured about 20 centimetres and is estimated to be around 4 year-of-age.
They were told to wrap ‘Dipsy’, now named by the children, in a wet towel before returning to shore where the creature was to be transferred to the ARCA rescue centre of the Oceanogràfic Sea and Environment Department to be treated as it presents “epibiontes, which generally denotes poor health”.
This latest discovery serves to remind us all that if we see a loggerhead turtle to leave it alone, and summon the emergency services who will act immediately to save and protect these creatures who are becoming a more frequent visitor to the Mediterranean coast.
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