The Mayor of Almuñécar, grasping firmly an uncomfortable turtle, returned it to the sea after recuperating in a specialised centre.

The other turtle was launched by the a provincial politician, Manuel Francisco García. Also attending was a group of schoolchildren from CEIP Las Gaviotas
Now, these two turtles had the unsual names of Iván and Satélite 23. This class of turtle is called a tortuga boba (silly turtle) in Spanish, which might have inspired these names…
Our shell-shocked friends (the shocked turtles inside their shells) had completed their recovery in the Centro de Gestión del Medio Marino Andaluz (CEGMA), in Algeciras.
Iván had been found completely tangled in a skein of abandoned fishing line. The line had caused wounds to its neck and legs, so it was treated for this.
As for Satélite 23, it was found washed up on a beach on the Costa Tropical in clear state of starvation, or because there was a shortage of food for it, or because of an illness. The teams at CEGMA set about feeding it up to a healthy state, ready for its eventual release back into the salty beyond.
The schoolchildren present received a quick lecture from the CEGMA biologists on the Tortuga Boba, or loggerhead sea turtle in English; about where it can be found, what it eats and what eats them; i.e., their natural predators.
The kids were also taught what to do if they were to come across one that was obviously in trouble, emphasising not to try assisting it themselves but to immediately contact the authorities through 112.
(La Herradura, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)
Keywords: Tortuga Boba, CEGMA, Recuperation Centre, Returned to the Sea, Mayor Ruiz Joya
Reader’s comment: “When I read the headline, I was unsure whether it was the Mayor or the turtle that was recuperating. Thanks for the clarification” – Dave Young
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