Dikkopschildpad: een bijzondere dwaalgast in Nederland

On October 23, 2008 a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) stranded in the Netherlands at Groote Keeten N52°51’48- E4°42’47. The turtle was alive but in bad condition. It was brought to Burgers’ Zoo in Arnhem for rehabilitation and released into the wild on August 7, 2009 in Portugal. It was the fourth time a living loggerhead sea turtle was found stranded in the Netherlands. Previous occasions were in 1707, 1894 and 1927. So far, there have been four cases of stranded dead animals: in 1954, 1959, 1998 and 2007 (Brongersma, 1972; Hoogmoed, in prep.). Most strandings in the northern part of Europe concern juveniles and happened in colder periods like autumn and winter. This article describes the basic life history of the Northern Atlantic loggerhead sea turtle, and sheds some light on the possible background of the loggerhead turtle that stranded in the Netherlands. In the next ravon issue we will present an article about a second sea turtle that stranded on November 21, 2008 at Westerschouwen N51°40’39- E3°42’48 and was brought to Rotterdam Zoo for rehabilitation. This one turned out to be a Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii).