Turtle washed up along Kerry coast recuperates in Ireland ahead of transfer to Portugal
Toby the turtle is heading home to a sunny climate in Portugal after being rescued in Ireland. Picture: Domnick Walsh
A baby loggerhead sea turtle that washed up on the Kerry coast earlier this year has landed safely in his new home in Portugal.
Two-year-old Toby the turtle has almost doubled in size since he first arrived in Ireland, when he weighed just 350g.
The turtle washed up along one of the beaches in Maharees, Co Kerry, four months ago, where he was found by a passerby.
Marine biologist and founder of Dingle’s Oceanworld Aquarium Kevin Flannery said he could not believe the discovery.
It is understood Toby was swept across the Atlantic by the prevailing south-west winds from one of the species main hatching grounds near Florida.
Loggerhead turtles are known to live within the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic Ocean after hatching, but often they are pushed further afield by large storms and hurricanes affecting the US.
Once pushed too far north, baby loggerheads often go into “cold shock” from the drastic change in water temperatures, losing the ability to swim. This often causes them to be carried by currents to the coast of Ireland.
“They get washed up along the coast of the east coast [of America] quite a lot and a lot of places there collect them and fly them back down [home] again,” Mr Flannery added.
Against all odds, Toby has made a remarkable recovery, doubling in size over his four-month stay in Ireland.
Describing the turtle’s condition upon arriving in Ireland, Mr Flannery said: “He was virtually comatose, he was in a coma. If you don't do things right, it was obvious that he would have died.”
After gaining weight and with his swimming ability returning, the decision was made to send Toby to the Azores in Portugal, one of three locations where loggerhead turtles spend their teenage years.
Once in Lisbon, Portugal's Flying Sharks charity, which specialises in the transport of live marine animals, collected Toby from Lisbon and transported him to the Azores waters.
The docile creature has a life expectancy of over 100 years, with many facing premature death due to their inability to distinguish jellyfish from plastic particles in the ocean.
Despite the safe transportation of Toby, the work of the conservation crew is far from over following the discovery of another loggerhead turtle in Co Mayo last Thursday, November 23.
Weighing just 400g, the baby loggerhead turtle named Maya was found covered in sand and unable to lift her head.
The crew are hopeful she will make a successful recovery and follow Toby across to the warm waters surrounding the Azores in the new year.
