‘Special’ turtle is named in memory of Spot supporter
A TURTLE nesting off the coast of North Cyprus has been given the name “Katie” in memory of longtime supporter of the Society for the Protection of Turtles (Spot), Katie Devlin.
The turtle in question is at least 62 years old according to Spot, and was the 55th green turtle to be identified by Spot’s Alagadi night patrol team back in 1995.
It has since been recorded nesting in 1999, 2003, 2006, 2015, 2018 and again this year, and was one of the first green turtles in the Mediterranean to be tracked via satellite.
As a result of that tracking, it was found in 1999 that the turtle had migrated as far as the mouth of the Nile river.
The tracking device encountered technical difficulties and therefore the results were unclear. It was tracked again in 2003 and on that occasion went to the Gulf of Sirte in Libya, and is now being tracked for a third time having once more arrived in North Cyprus for nesting.
Katie Devlin’s family released a statement about the news, saying that “she visited the Spot centre in Alagadi and watched a loggerhead [turtle] lay her eggs on the beach, she was hooked, all she talked about was the turtle project”.
The statement explained that Ms Devlin intended to return to North Cyprus to volunteer her time to Spot, but that “unfortunately, due to illness, she was never able to make that journey and she passed away in 2021”.
Ms Devlin’s family then explained that “it seemed fitting as
a family that we raise money in her name and have used this to sponsor a turtle through Spot”, and that “to be able to track Katie
[the] turtle on her travels is going to be a huge comfort for the family and our small part in carrying out her wishes”.
❐ Those wishing to follow Katie’s journey can view the tracking data at cyprusturtles.org/tracking