A rare Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, one of the smallest and most endangered sea turtles, recently completed a remarkable return to the Gulf of Mexico after being found thousands of miles away in Europe.
This resilient turtle, affectionately named Boeier after the boat that rescued her, had an unexpected adventure that spanned over 5,000 miles from the Netherlands to the Texas coast.
Boeier’s journey began when she got caught in a powerful ocean current and drifted far from her usual warm-water habitat, winding up in the frigid North Sea. Cold and weakened, she became trapped in a fishing net off the Dutch coast, where she was discovered by a commercial vessel’s crew.
Recognizing her distress, they rescued Boeier and took her to the Rotterdam Zoo, where she received the necessary care to recover.
Sea turtles like Boeier can become “cold-stunned” in low temperatures, which leaves them lethargic and unable to swim, making survival difficult without intervention.
After months of rehabilitation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service coordinated her journey back home, securing permits for her transport from Amsterdam to Houston. Once in the United States, Boeier was assessed by veterinarians at the Houston Zoo, who ensured she was healthy enough for her final journey.
Texas A&M University’s Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research outfitted her with a tracking device, allowing researchers to monitor her movements in the Gulf.
Boeier was finally released on Nov. 4 at Stewart Beach in Galveston, marking the successful end of her long journey back to her native habitat.
“We are so happy that Boeier was rescued, rehabilitated, and deemed healthy enough to release so that she can rejoin the reproductive population and potentially contribute to the recovery of the species,” said Mary Kay Skoruppa, Sea Turtle Coordinator for Texas.
For those along the coast, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service encourages the public to report any sightings of distressed sea turtles to local wildlife authorities.
This article by Trinity Sparke was first published by One Green Planet on 13 November 2024. Image Credit :Erik Mandre/Shutterstock.
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