A loggerhead turtle was found dead on the coast of Oregon Saturday morning. A beachgoer stumbled across the 75-pound sea creature lying lifeless on the sands of Manzanita Beach.
Dead Loggerhead Turtle in Oregon
Photos of the washed-up turtle had been sent to the Seaside Aquarium, which quickly arrived on the scene to check on it. According to Tiffany Boothe, a spokesperson for the Seaside Aquarium, sea turtles are common on the Oregon Coast. However, the species they usually encounter are Olive Ridleys, and loggerheads are rare, Newsweek reported.
The loggerhead was believed to have been dead for some time because small sea creatures had started colonizing its shell. It remains unclear what killed the turtle.
Boothe said they would schedule it for a necropsy to determine the cause of its death.
The turtle was moving with an entire ecosystem, according to Boothe. After cleaning its shell, live gooseneck barnacles, skeleton shrimp, and even nudibranchs [also known as sea slugs] were found.
They are optimistic about confirming the identification of the sea turtle.
Boothe said there are two different populations in the Pacific, which nest exclusively in the Japanese Archipelago. She added that juveniles forage, develop and mature in the East, West, and Central Pacific. Some of the most productive foraging grounds are off the coast of Baja, California.
However, she added that it was unusual to find the species in the North at this time of the year because sea turtles forage in offshore warm water for food. Hence, they are more inclined to be farther South.
Warm water may be driven farther north and closer to shore than typical by certain weather patterns, such as persistent southwest breezes. If this occurs and circumstances abruptly shift, the warm current disappears, and the turtles could become stuck in the cooler currents that normally flow along the Oregon and Washington Coasts.
What Are Loggerhead Turtles?
According to Fisheries, the loggerhead turtle got its name due to its large head, which supports its powerful jaw muscle enabling it to feed on hard-shelled prey, including whelks and conch.
They can be found worldwide, with nine distinct populations across the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea.
They can grow up to 3.5 feet long and weigh up to 350 pounds, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The loggerhead is the sea turtle that nests most frequently in the US. Young and adult loggerhead turtles reside in the coastal seas of the United States. However, many adults who nest on American beaches move from nearby countries, such as the Bahamas, Cuba, and Mexico.
The bycatch in fishing gear like trawls, gillnets, and longlines is to blame for reducing loggerhead populations in the United States. Bycatch in fishing gear continues to be the major threat to loggerhead sea turtles despite adopting turtle excluder devices (TEDs) in shrimp trawls, gillnet prohibitions, and other gear modifications.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature classed loggerheads as vulnerable to extinction due to their decreasing population worldwide.
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