@Sea Animal Rescue TeamThe weakened turtle, among the tangled mussels.
In association with
Broadcasting Zeeland
NOS News•today, 12:52•Adjusted today, 2:49
Two rare turtles washed up on the beach this morning. A seriously weakened sea turtle was discovered this morning on the beach of Dishoek near Vlissingen, covered in mussels. On the beach at ‘s-Gravenzande, not far from The Hague, a walker also discovered a washed-up turtle at almost the same time. There was nothing wrong with that.
It is the third time in a short time that sea turtles have washed ashore.
The sea turtle at Dishoek was discovered on the beach around 10.15 am, reports Broadcasting Zeeland. The hiker who saw him called Jaap van der Hiele of the Sea Animal Rescue Team. He retrieved the animal and noted that the turtle appeared weakened. “You can see this, among other things, in the mussels that have grown on his shell. Normally they remove them themselves,” says Van der Hiele. “And the mussels also make them heavier, which makes it even more difficult for them to find food and further weakens them.”
Warm Gulf of Mexico
Recently, rare turtles have been washing up on the Dutch coast more often. At the end of October, a so-called Kemp’s sea turtle ended up in the nets of fishermen from Arnemuiden. That animal was named Boeier, named after the fishermen’s ship of the same name. Last week a Kemp’s turtle washed up on the beach at Zoutelande, not far from Dishoek. That animal was named Bløf, after the Zeeland pop group.
This morning’s turtle is a bit smaller than the other two. The animal is named Mister T. The walker chose that name because one of his children surfs and calls himself Mister T.
As far as we know, the washed-up turtle in ‘s-Gravenzande does not yet have a name.
Blijdorp in Rotterdam
The question is why the sea turtles end up in the Netherlands. The Kemp’s turtle is originally only found in the warm water of the Gulf of Mexico and cannot survive in cold water. The fat-headed turtle has less difficulty surviving in cold water, but is not normally found in (near) the Netherlands. Van der Hiele assumes that the turtles ended up in the wrong gulf stream. Storm Pia may also have played a role.
The two turtles that washed ashore this morning, just like the turtles that were found earlier, were transferred by animal ambulance to the Blijdorp Zoo in Rotterdam. That is the only place in the Netherlands where sea turtles are cared for.
@Sea Animal Rescue TeamIn a basket to Rotterdam
2023-12-23 13:49:11
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