Giant Leatherback Turtle - Wexford

EarlERizer

Don't know if this is the correct forum for this but....

Found on Cullenstown Beach Wexford this afternoon.....

Looks like a Giant Leatherback, it's dead! and missing part of its front flippers, I think this is the 5th or 6th one to wash up on Wexford shores in the last few years,I know there were two such instances last year aswell,oddly enough both in August!

Very sad when you consider they are an endangered species,to think this animal has migrated across the Atlantic from South American coastal waters to end up dead on a beach in Wexford,9 times out of 10 their deaths can be attributed to humans,as little as 1 in 1000 have a life expectancy to adulthood.

I've tried to contact the NPWS to report it but they're not open on Sundays

Birdnuts

Yep - the seas are so full of plastic rubbish now I wouldn't be surprised if that was the cause of death. Between that and overfishing the only thing left in a few years will be the likes of jellyfish:(

Kess73

I know they can grow a lot bigger than the one in the big, but impressive size nonetheless.

Would love to know where it actually came from as one would have to guess that it came either from South American, Mexican or African waters in order to end up in Ireland (or maybe from Florida as that is a major nesting site), but there would always be the possibility of it having come from much further afield.


Sad that it was a dead specimen, but it still meant you got to see an animal in the flesh that most people on this planet will never catch a glimpse of.


Actually quite interesting to hear of them starting to show up more often in Irish waters, and there was also a report last week of a great white attack on a hooked shark in UK waters with the bites to be examined further by experts, but one or two experts have already come out and said that what has been seen so far of the bite marks and radius look consistent with those of a medium sized GW.

And typically there were cries straight away of how it would need to be hunted down if proven to be a GW.:rolleyes:

kylith

I saw a documentary a few years about about GWs in British and Irish waters. They're probably already around because there's absolutely nothing stopping them; there are no barrier and they can cope with our water temperatures just fine.

recedite

A few turtles drift along on the Gulf Stream following the jellyfish and end up here in late summer every year, but usually on the west coast. I think its pretty much a one way trip for them because the water is too cold here. I'd say a lot of them die and sink unseen, outside of the summer season, before they even get near Ireland.
I remember a good few years ago there was a fuss made about one, and money was raised to send it back to the Gulf of Mexico on an Aer Lingus flight. Just a once-off stunt.

recedite

How fresh is it BTW?
Apparently they are very tasty, and that one looks very plump.

Half-cocked

recedite wrote: »

How fresh is it BTW?
Apparently they are very tasty, and that one looks very plump.

I'd say it's bloated from decomposition. I wouldn't eat it unless you like your meat very gamy;)

Kess73

kylith wrote: »

I saw a documentary a few years about about GWs in British and Irish waters. They're probably already around because there's absolutely nothing stopping them; there are no barrier and they can cope with our water temperatures just fine.

We had a pretty big shark thread in this forum some years back where I argued the very same point.

GWs are present in waters far colder than Irish waters and are also present in waters that are far warmer. I think a lot of people think that because an animal does not get seen a lot then it cannot be there, or that GWs only eat seals.

What was interesting was the finding of a species that the GW is known to prey on in the Atlantic, the seven gill shark, just off the Kerry coast. The Seven gill was a species that supposedly was not in Irish waters. So my line of logic is that is one of the prey species of the Atlantic GWs is turning up in Irish waters, then there has to be a possibility that the predator of those species may be doing likewise.

kylith

Kess73 wrote: »

We had a pretty big shark thread in this forum some years back where I argued the very same point.

GWs are present in waters far colder than Irish waters and are also present in waters that are far warmer. I think a lot of people think that because an animal does not get seen a lot then it cannot be there, or that GWs only eat seals.

What was interesting was the finding of a species that the GW is known to prey on in the Atlantic, the seven gill shark, just off the Kerry coast. The Seven gill was a species that supposedly was not in Irish waters. So my line of logic is that is one of the prey species of the Atlantic GWs is turning up in Irish waters, then there has to be a possibility that the predator of those species may be doing likewise.

I would absolutely agree. There is a wealth of food in the form of seals off the coast of Ireland. GWs may not be common, but I would think that they are here.

Kess73

kylith wrote: »

I would absolutely agree. There is a wealth of food in the form of seals off the coast of Ireland. GWs may not be common, but I would think that they are here.

Would argue that the seals off the Irish coast would not even be the main food attraction for any Atlantic based GWs that came into Irish waters. AFAIK most Atlantic based GWs tend to have more fish heavy diets and tend to feed deeper down. That would make them very hard to notice in Irish waters as there would be very little surface activity compared to GWs that specilize in hunting pinnipeds.

Similar specializations in preferred prey/hunting techniques can be found in Killer Whale, with the Orca found in certain waters tending to feed almost exclusively on either fish or mammals to the point that they can pretty much ignore the food type they don't specialize in.