Satellite-tracked turtle ends up in Tunisia after 300-day journey

A loggerhead sea turtle tracked by satellite ended up in the Northern African country of Tunisia following a nearly 300-day journey across the Mediterranean starting in Turkey, over 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) away, Turkish scientists found.

The Caretta caretta turtle - using its scientific name - called Lycia is one of eight turtles released from the beaches of southern Turkey as part of a sea turtle monitoring project of the Turkish Ministry of Environment and Urbanization.

Lycia took a 296-day journey to reach Tunisia.

According to ministry data, various types of sea turtles, including Caretta caretta, Chelonia mydas, and Trionyx triunguis, have been monitored and kept in special conservation zones for over 30 years.

It is important for the studies to know which areas and countries the turtles visit during migration and outside the breeding season, to protect those habitats and to take protective measures, so last year the ministry began monitoring them by attaching satellite tracking devices.

Last Aug. 19 in Turkey's Patara Special Environmental Protection Area, with the participation of Turkish first lady Emine Erdoğan and Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum, satellite devices were attached to sea turtles before they were released into the sea.

Two were released from the Belek Special Environmental Protection Area, two from the Goksu Delta Special Environmental Protection Area, and one from the Koycegiz Dalyan Delta Special Environmental Protection Area.

The migration, feeding, and wintering grounds of the eight sea turtles were monitored using the trackers.

Lycia travels farthest

The project found that six of the eight sea turtles used Turkish territorial waters...