A large leatherback turtle was found dead on the shore near Mala on Saturday morning.
Agents from the Cabildo’s Environmental Department attended the scene, examined the body of the turtle and removed it for further examination. It is hoped that an autopsy may give some clue as to how the creature died.
The leatherback is the largest of sea turtles. An open ocean species, it is seen less frequently on the Canaries than the loggerhead turtles, and is classed as “vulnerable”, with the world population of nesting turtles declining by over 50% in the last 590 years.
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