A young loggerhead turtle which was swept across the Atlantic to the north Mayo coast is now thriving in Galway Atlantaquaria, thanks to the quick and careful response of the family that found it.
As RTÉ Countrywide and The Sunday Independent report, Jonathan Padden (10) was out with his parents, Eilish and John, on An Fál Mór beach near Blacksod a month ago when he spotted what looked like a rock.
The Paddens wrapped their find carefully in a towel and took it to Gemma O’Connor, Irish Whale and Dolphin Group live stranding co-ordinator in north Mayo.
She contacted Matthew Hawkins, manager of Galway Atlantaquaria, who drove up to Castlebar with his daughter, Megan, to meet the Paddens halfway.
Columbus after four weeks getting its daily health check
“The drive up to Castlebar was pretty cold, because we had to keep the turtle cold,” Jonathan told the newspaper.
He had already decided he would call the endangered marine reptile “Columbus”.
Once hunted for their meat and eggs, loggerhead turtles are a protected and endangered species, with ocean plastic and climate change being among the main threats to their survival.
Staff at the Galway aquarium, along with colleagues at Mara Beo in Dingle, Co Kerry, have built up an expertise in caring for washed up turtles - but only a percentage survive.
This is the third surviving loggerhead turtle to be rehabilitated in Galway – the first being Leona, found in Co Clare in 2015, and Eva, washed in by Storm Eva to the Wexford coast in 2014.
Hawkins and veterinary advisor Rita Gately say that “Columbus” has done so well that arrangements will soon be made to return it to the wild.
Read more in the Sunday Independent here
And listen to RTÉ Radio 1 Countrywide here
