Barcelona is such a popular destination, even rare loggerhead sea turtles have chosen it for a visit, and left behind 55 baby turtles in a first for the city’s beaches.
Conservationists from the Foundation for the Conservation and Recovery of Marine Animals, known as CRAM, were on hand for the late August event, which is rare even out of the bright lights of the city. CRAM took the first five turtle hatchlings to its center to be raised until they reach optimal weight for survival in the wild; the others were released directly into the waters off Mar Bella Beach.
The nest on the beach was found at the beach in mid-July when a loggerhead was seen on the beach. There were 77 eggs, sixty of which were reburied further up the beach to avoid flooding. 17 were taken to CRAM for artificial incubation and study. Of the sixty that were reburied, four did not develop, and one hatched turtle didn’t make it to the surface when they hatched.
