Aroha

Islas Canarias (Proyecto Aegina): juvenile loggerheads

A project of Proyecto Aegina.

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Species: Loggerhead
Life Stage: Juvenile
Gender: Unknown
Release Date: 2006-06-08 13:40:00
Release Location: Taliarte
Last Location: 2007-03-06 07:24:56

Background

This turtle, named "Aroha", was captured off the South of Gran Canaria Island, as well as the rest of the animals that are part of this study. The coloration of this individual is somewhat darker when compared with that of other turtles found off this island. "Aroha" was released on Melenara Beach, situated on the East shore. Many people attended the release and showed interest in our telemetry studies. We informed them about the possibility of getting free further information via internet. When captured, the animal was 20 kg in weight and 55 cm in length. Among its faeces, we observed some pieces of plastic ingested in the wild. Fortunately, Aroha got rid of this dangerous material successfully. Often, the ingestion of this kind of debris by different marine species may result in serious gastrointestinal disorders and even death.