As a result of a strong NE wind that blew with a strength of over 30 knots in the previous days, three loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) were admitted to the Sea Turtle Rescue Centre on Lošinj yesterday.

Sea turtle in the port of Veli Lošinj

In the morning we were informed about the sighting of a large sea turtle in the port of Veli Lošinj. It was an adult female loggerhead turtle with a shell length of 69 cm and a weight of 40 kg. During her rescue, two more young sea turtles were spotted floating. Their hibernation process was interrupted due to severe weather conditions. It was obvious that they were cold stunned and were not able to dive. All three turtles were taken care of in our rescue centre where they were provided with the necessary care. They were named Bura, Veli and Saturn.

Turtles are cold-blooded animals whose temperature depends on the temperature of the environment. In order to survive the winter, sea turtles migrate to warmer areas. It is known that in the Adriatic they make winter migrations towards south. They also enter a period of hibernation during which metabolic activity is significantly reduced to save the body’s energy reserves. The organism becomes lethargic and shows almost no response to external stimuli. Therefore, sea turtles spend the winter resting on the seabed in shallower coastal areas. During hibernation, they emerge every 4-7 hours just to breathe. In case of severe winter weather, due to exposure to low temperatures, sea turtles become very weak. This makes them unable to dive in order to return to places where they can protect themselves from the cold.

Juvenile loggerhead sea turtle rescued

 

Thanks to the implementation of the project “Improvement and Increase of Sea Turtle Rescue Centre Capacity” (KK.06.5.2.04.0004), Blue World Institute continues the work on the improvement of conditions for sea turtle recovery. Project is co-financed from the Cohesion fund of European Structural and Investment Funds.