“Paola” was one of the first loggerhead turtles released in Greece to be tracked via satellite in the Mediterranean and has featured in an exhibition in London’s Science Museum (1999). The Project was directed by Dr. Flegra Bentivegna, curator of the Stazione Zoologica “Anton Dohrn” in Naples (Italy) in collaboration with MEDASSET. In 1995 an injured loggerhead was caught in the nets of an Italian fishing boat.
It was thanks to the young daughter of an Italian restaurant owner, Paola, that the turtle was transferred to the researchers in Naples. The turtle was rehabilitated and a fish hook removed from its throat, and five months later was ready to be returned to its natural habitat: the sea. Dr. Bentivegna and MEDASSET released “Paola” in Kefalonia island with a transmitter attached to its carapace (April 13th, 1997).
After being caught and released once more from the nets of a Greek fisherman, “Paola’s” final transmission was in August 1997 between the island of Lesvos (Greece) and Dikili (Turkey). Read “Paola’s” enchanting full story here.
