Turtle eclipse of the heart...

Poignant moment rescued Solstice set back to ocean

- BY LYNNE KELLEHER

FIVE months after she was found near dead on an Irish beach, a tiny tropical turtle has been released back into the wild off the African coast.

The Irish team who had cared for the endangered juvenile since her rescue, 3,000 miles from home, flew down with her to Gran Canaria.

They accompanied Solstice on the last leg of the journey to the sea after she was discharged from the turtle hospital on the Canary Island.

Director of Dingle Oceanworld, Dr Kevin Flannery, who oversaw her rehabilitation, said: "You're looking at a journey, by this little turtle alone, of over 6,000 miles, between getting washed across the Atlantic and then flying all the way down again to the Canaries - all before she reaches seven years of age.

"For this lady to survive, you can't even put it in words. It gives her a great fighting chance."

ATTACK

The turtle - thought to have survived a shark attack and a 3,000-mile Atlantic drift - only weighed around 1kg when she was discovered at Quilty, Co Clare, during the Christmas holidays.

Diagnosed with a respiratory condition and meningitis, she had only hours to live when she was found covered in seaweed and barely able to lift her head.