Endangered Loggerhead sea turtle found dead on Dutch beach

A Loggerhead sea turtle has washed up on a beach at the Hondsbossche Zeewering in Camperduin. The animal was already dead when it was found last month, Natuurbericht reported on Thursday. According to Natuurbericht, this sea turtle was not yet mature and had an estimated carapace length of 55 to 60 centimeters. Adult specimens have a carapace length of between 83 to 124 centimeters. Though Loggerhead sea turtles getting stranded on Dutch beaches is a rare occurrence, this is the second one to wash up in the Netherlands this year. A smaller specimen was found alive in Katwijk January. This sea turtle was taken in by the Blijdorp Zoo and was transferred to Zoomarine in Portugal earlier this month. He will soon be released back into the ocean by the Portuguese navy. The Loggerhead sea turtle, Latin name Caretta Careatta, is an endangered species. So far only 10 such turtles have ever been recorded in the Netherlands. The first one was found in IJmuiden in 1707.