Murcian young loggerhead turtles tracked to African and Balearic coastlinesSome of the 21 young turtles released managed to cover 300 kilometres in their first two days of freedomIt is now a month since twenty-one 12-month-old loggerhead turtles were released into the Mediterranean at one of the beaches of Calblanque in the municipality of Cartagena, having hatched from their eggs in the late summer of 2019 and become the first of their species to begin life in the Region of Murcia for over a century. Satellite transmitters were fitted to several of the young turtles to try and track their progress and follow them as far as possible to ascertain just where these turtles travel to during the first few months of their new lives in the wild. The locations of the other 15 are not known, although it can be supposed that they are not far from their brothers (all of the turtles are male). The most adventurous of the young turtles so far have been Argonauta, Caretto and Bobico, names selected from those suggested by the 40 volunteers who have been monitoring the presence of loggerhead turtles on the beaches of the Costa Cálida. The transmitters being employed were developed specifically for use in these loggerhead turtles and are designed to remain operational for between 3 and 12 months.

Source: The North Africa Journal November 13, 2020 12:56 UTC