A critically endangered Kemp’s Ridley Turtle washed up in Wales 🚨😣

On Wednesday the 18th of December we received a call about a sea turtle that washed up on Llangennith beach and it was in fact a critically endangered species.

While it isn’t uncommon for wash ups on this coastline this is only the third (thankfully) Kemp’s Ridley ever found on welsh beaches and so it’s very rare.

I am no turtle expert and I have no positive confirmation on cause of death but my guess is cold water shock and the storms.

It’s important to remember when things like this happen it needs to be dealt with properly. The Kemp’s Ridley Turtle is the rarest of the world's seven turtle species and only nine have ever previously washed up in the UK in HISTORY! There is a reason for this and it is imperative that we get down to the bottom of why.

If you ever find a wash up on the beach please do make the right decision and call your local wildlife rescue services immediately! A massive well done to Phillippa Davies who quickly contacted the right people so both Natural Resources Wales marine standings team, and Swansea University's biologists could get down to the site. NRW will now store the turtle appropriately ready for an in-depth necroscopy to find out more. This is a very important find today and the mission today to collect and store it will be crucial for the team to better understand why it’s here 💙