"Gata"

Grupo Tortuguero: Pacific Sea Turtle Tracking

A project of Grupo Tortuguero Tracking Project.

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Species: Green Turtle
Life Stage: Juvenile
Gender: unknown
Release Date: 2000-07-09 00:00:00
Release Location: Punta del Gato, Bahia Magdalena, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Last Location: 2000-09-15 16:48:45

Background

The East Pacific green turtle "Gata" ("Cat" in Spanish) that we began tracking in July 2000 was reported captured by a fisherman and eaten by some 100 people. Gata was the largest black turtle (Chelonia mydas) we have ever captured in Baja (at over 140 kg = approx 310 lbs). Victor Mesa and Julio Solis, the fishermen who helped us with this project and named the turtle were very angry after hearing the news. Turtles like Gata may be more than 50 years old and their migrations to southern nesting beaches to reproduce are the hope of sea turtle recovery in the region. Gata's demise represents a big loss to Baja's sea turtles. Her last accurate position was from September 2000. By looking at her map you'll see that she never left the Bay.