Leatherback sea turtle seen on Bosphorus for first time

The leatherback sea turtle, one of the largest living reptiles, was seen on the Bosphorus for the first time. Turkish academic Arda Tonay said that the climate change might have caused the turtle to come to the Bosphorus, “perhaps following jellyfish to feed,” adding that this species is mostly living in the tropics and sub-tropics.

Thursday August 08 2024 12:29 am

Duvar English

Nedim Yüzseven, a tour ship captain in Istanbul, on July 9 saw something on the Bosphorus that turned out to be a leatherback sea turtle.

The captain first thought it might be a tire, but when he got closer, he realized that it was a very large turtle he had never seen before and recorded those moments. He then shared the images on social media.

Turkish academic in Istanbul University’s Marine Biology Department, Arda Tonay, determined that the turtle was a leatherback sea turtle seen on Bosphorus for the first time, Demirören News Agency reported on Aug. 6.

Tonay said the climate change might have caused this turtle to come to the Bosphorus.

“This species and others have been showing up in different seas. We think it's coming here because of the climate change, perhaps following jellyfish to feed,” he said. He added that this species is actually cosmopolitan all over the world, but is mostly living in the tropics and sub-tropics.

“This species can reach 2.5 meters in length and 600 kilograms in weight. Captain Nedim saw and recorded this species off Baltalimanı. We reached him on social media. Together with Professor Oğuz Türkozan, we evaluated this observation and published it as a scientific article,” he noted.

He further said it was 14th record of this species to be seen in Turkey, but first in the Marmara Sea.

“Moreover, the process of Mediterraneanization of the Black Sea has been going on since the Bosphorus opened 7-8 thousand years ago. As a result, this observation could be a record of this. What is surprising here is that it is very important to record this observation in such a narrow waterway like the Bosphorus, which has the world's busiest maritime traffic,” he added.

Meanwhile, the captain Yüzseven said, “It was a different turtle. After the video I shared, Arda Professor reached me and told me that this was a very rare species and that it was recorded for the first time in the Bosphorus. I was very happy to hear this. I hope no one will harm the creature and it will roam our seas comfortably.”