FREE MENAI
Lost rare turtle gets closer to home
A RARE and endangered turtle which washed up on the banks of the Menai Strait has been flown closer to home as part of her recovery.
Menai, as she has been called, is an Olive Ridley turtle and was found metres away from the Anglesey Sea Zoo at Brynsiencyn in November 2016.
Following more than six months of rehab at the aquarium, Menai - who was found in a critical condition - has recovered enough to be flown to Gran Canaria.
Her weight has increased from 20kg to 38kg and she is now ready for several weeks in a special rehabilitation centre before being released back into the wild.
When Menai was found she was not expected to survive and suffered from buoyancy issues.
A CT scan at the Royal Veterinary College discovered this was caused by a lung over-expansion after not surfacing to breathe during her treacherous journey through the North Atlantic to the Irish sea, a staggering distance totalling around 8,000 miles.
On Monday, the animal was being flown to Las Palmas, Gran Canaria from Manchester Airport by Thom- son Airways.
Pascual Calabuig Miranda, the senior Vet at Centro de Recuperación de Fauna Silvestre de Tafira, Gran Canaria said: “We will be delighted to admit the turtle to our hospital and specialist sea turtle rehabilitation facility here in Gran Canaria.
“We have warm sea water tanks with clean water, sun almost every day, excellent fresh fish, and freshly harvested sea weeds, and she will be very well taken care of by our team in preparation for her release.”
Menai is the first Olive Ridley turtle in Great Britain and Ireland since records began in 1748, and the north- ernmost individual of her species ever recorded.
Frankie Hobro, Director and Owner of Anglesey Sea Zoo said: “Menai is a truly incredible animal.
“The fact that she even made it to our shores alive is amazing and the fact that she has now fully recovered and is fit for release back into the wild is nothing short of a miracle.
“Although we will be sad to see her move on we are delighted with her recovery and we know she will be in very safe hands with Pascual and his team in Gran Canaria.
“A huge thank you to the whole team at Thomson for working with us to ensure that this momentous trip for Menai goes smoothly.”
Once she is safely settled in Gran Canaria, Menai will stay there for a few more weeks before being carried by boat for her final release.
Funding through the BBC Natural History Unit towards an ongoing documentary will enable her to be satellite tagged prior to her final release into the wild, so that she can be followed and monitored after her release, and it is hoped she will make her own way back to her native breeding and grounds, which are believed to be either Gabon in West Africa or French Guiana in South America.