Readaptation to the wild of rehabilitated loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) assessed by satellite telemetry

Published source details Cardona L., Fernández G., Revelles M. & Aguilar A. (2012) Readaptation to the wild of rehabilitated loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) assessed by satellite telemetry. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 22, 104-112.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Rehabilitate and release injured or accidentally caught individuals: Sea turtles Action Link

Rehabilitate and release injured or accidentally caught individuals: Sea turtles

A controlled study in 2003–2007 in the Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean Sea (Cardona et al. 2012) found that six rehabilitated loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta survived for several months after return to the wild, and had largely similar behaviour to 12 wild turtles. Six rehabilitated turtles were tracked for an average of 156 days following release, and half were followed for longer than wild turtles. Rehabilitated turtles showed similar behaviour to wild turtles in 46 of 54 comparisons, with four of six rehabilitated turtles showing 1–3 behavioural differences each (see paper for details). Six injured turtles were brought to a rescue centre in 2004, 2006 and 2007 due to injuries sustained from boat strikes (2 turtles, 330–332 days in captivity), deeply embedded fishing hooks (2 turtles, 137–150 days in captivity), and injured flippers from net entanglement (2 turtles, 41 days in captivity). They were released between November 2004–March 2007. Twelve wild turtles were captured by a diver in 2003–2004 while basking. All turtles had a satellite tag attached and location data was received and processed by the Argos satellite system

(Summarised by: Maggie Watson, William Morgan)