Early yesterday morning, a Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) was found dead and washed up on Eastern beach Gibraltar. The Nautilus Project says this species is considered Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

A statement from the Nautilus Project follows below:

Upon inspection, our marine biologist noted no obvious signs of injury other than it missing its hind right flipper. The visible scrapping marks seemed consistent with being dragged up the beach by the waves.

Morphometric data was taken by TNP marine stranding team and logged onto the NEMO citizen science application. All evidence and information has been now passed onto Gib Marine, who we thank for being onsite for the safe disposal of the body, together with EWMS.

This continues to be the hardest part of our work and is indeed a sad day that this wonderful being has lost its life.

Thank you Ms Alsina Garcia for the report.