Lost turtle called Iona taken 1,700 miles back home after being nursed to health

06 October 2023 , 18:16

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The "malnourished and dehydrated" turtle has been restored to good health and released back into the wild (Image: PA)

A turtle has returned back to its home waters 1,700 miles away, after being nursed back to health in Yorkshire.

Found "malnourished and dehydrated" in wintry seas off the Scottish island of Iona - after which she was named - in January 2022, the loggerhead turtle had not been expected to "make the night". The creature was spotted by a passer-by more than 1,000 miles (1,600km) from her natural habitat.

She was taken to Sea Life in Loch Lomond for rehabilitation, before being relocated to Sea Life in Scarborough. After 18 months, the cute creature was released in the Portuguese Azores.

Todd German, animal care curator at Sea Life Scarborough, said the reptile was found "in the bleak midwinter, [it] is just incredibly lucky that she was found" and described her release as "surreal".

The loggerhead turtle is now back in its home waters (PA)

He said: "It was really touch-and-go whether or not she would pull through and make it."

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Now, she has been restored to good health and released back into the wild.

Robin Hunter, display supervisor at Sea Life Loch Lomond, said: "To be able to see her now go and live the way she's supposed to be living, that is a phenomenal feeling."

The turtle was fitted with a satellite tag to allow researchers to monitor her behaviour in the wild. Mafalda Sousa, research assistant at the Institute for Research in Marine Sciences, said there was a chance she could migrate as far as North America because "when loggerheads reach sexual maturity they move to nesting beaches".

She said she was confident Iona would thrive again in the wild, describing her species as "super-resilient".

Zesha Saleem