The last autumn days before the decrease in the sea temperature were used to return Calimero, a sea turtle, to the nature. Calimero is a subadult loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) with carapace length of 52 cm, which was found seven months ago near the island of Susak.

Carapace injury

The reason of Calimero’s admittance was a deep injury of the rear part of the carapace, most likely caused by the impact of the hull of the vessel. At the time, this turtle’s health was further weakened by the parasitic invasion.  The turtle was cured with a dedicated therapy and fractures of its carapace have been treated and protected with resin at our rescue centre.

 

GPS-GSM transmitter

Calimero was released equipped with a GPS-GSM transmitter that allows us to monitor its further movement for research purposes. These devices were developed as part of the “Collective Actions for Improving the Conservation Status of EU Sea Turtle Populations” project (LIFE EUROTURTLES) with the support of the LIFE financial instrument of the European Union.

Unfortunately, when sunbathing on the surface of the sea, a large number of sea turtles get injured or killed in collisions with vessels. Collisions with fast boats can cause severe and serious injuries and death of the animal by impact or propeller cuts. Therefore, timely reports of injured animals are extremely important in order to provide them with the necessary care when it is still possible.

The improvement of conditions for sea turtle recovery is co-financed by the European Union through the implementation of the project “Improvement and Increase of Sea Turtle Rescue Centre Capacity”, from the Operational Program Competitiveness and Cohesion of European Structural and Investment Funds (KK.06.5.2.04.0004).