DutchNews.nl - Rare turtle washed up on Dutch beach

Home

Opinion

Rare turtle washed up on Dutch beach

Monday 12 December 2011

A type of turtle only found in the Gulf of Mexico has been washed up on a Dutch beach and taken to the Scheveningen Sea Life centre to recover.

The Kemps Ridley is the smallest type of sea turtle and one of the most threatened species in the world. It was found on the beach at Monster, just south of The Hague at the weekend.

The turtle, nicknamed Flip, weighs 1.85 kilos and is 35 centimetres long. Once the animal has recovered, it will be released back into the wild, Sea Life manager Wybo Wijnbergen said in a statement.

Last week a Kemps Ridley turtle which washed up on the Dutch shore in 2008 was released back into the Gulf. It had been cared for in Rotterdam's Blijdorp zoo, news agency ANP said.

Subscribe Newsletter
Print-version
News archives

Readers' comments

I live in eastern Canada and on the news last night there was a story about the same kind of turtles. They had washed up on the west coast of Canada. Hmmmm I wonder why this is happening....

By Karina | December 12, 2011 4:40 PM

Makes sense. At 36 cm, this is a juvenile. Juvenile Kemps Ridleys have rebounded in the last ten years and once again become common on U.S. Georgia coast. From there they can get caught up in the
Gulf Stream and carried to Northern Europe, especially if cold-stunned. Adults remain in Gulf of Mexico.

By hb | December 13, 2011 1:00 PM

Comments have been closed for this article.

News