World’s most endangered turtle washes up on beach in Rossnowlagh

Photo taken by Coastwatch volunteer Aoife Flynn
Photo taken by Coastwatch volunteer Aoife Flynn

One of the world’s most endangered turtles has washed up on a beach in Co Donegal.

A young Kemp’s Ridley was found on the rocks in Rossnowlagh, on Christmas Day.

Coastwatch volunteer Aoife Flynn made the discovery.

An autopsy on the foot-long turtle was completed over the weekend which has confirmed that the turtleit is one of the species – the rarest sea turtle in the world.

Kemp’s Ridley are usually found in warmer climates and are known to move along the coast of Mexico.

They can live to up to 60-years-old, and just over 40 have been recorded in Irish waters since 1748

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