Bigger and fitter, rescued loggerhead turtles set free on beach in Spain

By Jon Nazca

MARBELLA, Spain (Reuters) - To the delight of curious beachgoers, marine biologists released dozens of young loggerhead sea turtles into the wild near Marbella in southern Spain on Tuesday, almost a year after a nest containing 69 eggs was discovered on a nearby beach.

Ten of them carry GPS trackers, which will allow scientists to know the movements of the vulnerable species for six months, before the trackers fall off as the shell expands, said Juan Manuel Gavira, a biologist at the Seville Aquarium, which took care of some of the turtles until their release.

"We care for them in different centres for a year, multiplying their chances of survival by 20. Over this time they gain weight, get stronger and bigger and then are returned to the sea with a better chance to survive," he said.

Beachgoers of all ages snapped pictures and listened to explanations from marine life experts about the loggerheads and their habits at a canopied stand.

When the eggs hatched, the baby loggerhead turtles weighed 10 grams (0.02 lb) and have now grown to weigh around 1 kg.

The females are expected to return to the Puerto Banus beach in about 20 years because they always return to lay eggs in the place where they first enter the sea, Gavira said, adding that the scientists expected the turtles to stay in the Mediterranean.

An adult loggerhead sea turtle weighs around 135 kg (297 lb) on average and its carapace is 90 cm (35 inches) long. They reach sexual maturity within 17–33 years and have a lifespan of up to 67 years.

(Writing by Andrei Khalip, Editing by William Maclean)