20 sea turtles return to Menorca after year in care

Twenty young sea turtles have been released at Cala En Calderer, Menorca, on Thursday 24 September. They came from a nest found on the same beach in October 2025 and spent almost a year in controlled care. At release, the 20 animals weighed about 1.5 kilos each on average.

The Balearic Government said the turtles had completed its Head Starting programme, in which young animals are raised and monitored through a particularly vulnerable stage to improve their chances of surviving after release.

One hatchling led experts to the nest

Staff at the Vestige Son Ermità hotel alerted specialists on 8 October 2025 after finding a newly hatched sea turtle at Cala En Calderer. The marine fauna team from the Consortium for the Recovery of Balearic Wildlife then found the nest.

It contained 25 live hatchlings, four eggs that had not yet hatched and 66 already hatched eggs. The hatchlings were taken to Irfap-Limia facilities on Mallorca, while the four remaining eggs went into an artificial incubator.

Of the 25 turtles first admitted to the programme, 20 reached the release stage. Several centres, including the Cabrera National Park Visitor Centre and Palma Aquarium Foundation, helped care for and monitor them.

Tests in Valencia found all 20 are male

The turtles from the participating centres were brought together at the Oceanográfico de Valencia on Tuesday before their return to Menorca. An endoscopy test found that every one of the 20 young turtles was male.

They were then taken back to the beach where they hatched. The Balearic Government thanked Vestige Son Ermità hotel for enabling specialists to reach the difficult-access site for both the nest search and the release.

Topics: Nature & wildlife · Agriculture · Palma

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com