Rescued caretta swims 600 kilometers

ANTALYA - İhlas News Agency

A Caretta caretta that was struggling for life as it had ingested plastic debris, causing it gastrointestinal problems, has been released into the sea after getting treatment for one-and-a-half years and has traveled 600 kilometers (372 miles) since then.

Reaching the coasts of the southwestern province of Mersin’s Anamur and then Cyprus, the turtle has been watched by some 29,000 people online through its journey.

A satellite tracking device was attached to the turtle before releasing it into the sea, and it traveled 600 kilometers in 49 days.

Thanks to the satellite device, information about where the turtle migrates and where it feeds in the seas will be available for a year.

“In this way, we aim to obtain information on how the rehabilitated turtle adapts to the natural environment, where it migrates in winter or where it roams,” the officials said.

Washing up on the beach in the southern province of Antalya’s Kemer district one and a half years ago, Lara was taken under surveillance by the Sea Turtles Research, Rescue and Rehabilitation Center (DEKAMER) in the southwestern province of Muğla.

Plastic waste and gas were detected in the intestine of Lara, which was found to be 30 years old and had wounds on its neck and body, following which it was taken into treatment.

In a bid to remove the plastic and accumulated gas from the body, drug treatment was started under the supervision of veterinarians.

“After one-and-a-half years of feeding it regularly, the turtle recovered and was able to feed and dive on its own,” said the officials, pointing out that sea turtles are a species that must be protected in order to maintain a healthy life cycle in the sea.

Currently off the coast of Cyprus, Lara is on its way back to Antalya.