They threw her into the sea, mistaking her for a sea turtle, but she who was a testudo hermanni, a "simple" land turtle, drowned.

It happens on the beach between Castiglione della Pescaia and Marina di Grosseto, as told by the Tartamare association, which has renamed the poor turtle "Marina": the specimen was near the shore when some tourists saw it and, believing it was in trouble, l 'they threw it into the sea like a caretta caretta. And Marina drowned.

"We found the body of the nameless and lifeless turtle on the beach after a report that indicated the presence of a turtle in those parts - says Tartamare - We decided to call her Marina, as the nature of the turtle for which she was sadly mistaken, and to bury her in the dune. Marina died due to ignorance. An ignorance that could be filled in minutes. Marina's death could have been avoided with a call, before acting in any way, to a competent body or even with a simple search on the internet".

Hence the invitation, always repeated: in similar cases «it is a duty to inquire before acting. But often not acting is the best solution. Not all the animals we meet are in difficulty, sometimes the difficulty in which they find themselves can also be aggravated by help provided in a way that is not appropriate to the circumstances".

So what to do if we spot a sea turtle? «The rules are few and simple: don't bother the turtle in any way and keep your distance so as not to scare it, absolutely don't touch it, immediately call Tartamare (SOS Tartarughe +39 338 4876614) or the coast guard on 1530: the authorities will provide competent to give you instructions on how to behave".

(Unioneonline/D)

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