Loggerhead Turtle Saved After Brick Tied To Its Leg With A Rope
This is the moment a loggerhead sea turtle is saved from almost certain death after a conservation team found that someone had tied a brick to the animal’s leg leaving it almost completely immobile.
The struggling turtle was spotted by beachgoers in the Kumbaglar Harbour located in the Gulpinar village in the district of Ayvacik in the Turkish province of Canakkale, earlier this month (September).
They reported the situation to the 2nd Regional Directorate of the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks who dispatched a team to save the turtle.
As seen in the footage the rescue team lifted the heavy turtle from the shallows onto a flat surface and cut it free from the heavy brick that had kept it anchored to the ground.
According to local media, the rescue operation took approximately two hours as the team had to travel to the beach and upon arrival lift the heavy animal out of the shallows where it was stuck.
After successfully cutting the turtle free from the brick it went back into the water and swam out of sight without any injuries.
An adult loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) normally weighs around 135 kilogrammes (298 lbs) and measures around 90 centimetres (35 inches) across.
The species is considered vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with fishing nets and destruction of habitat often leading to their deaths.
They are native to the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea where they spend most of their lives only coming ashore to lay their eggs.
An investigation has been initiated to identify the perpetrators of the incident.
