Leona The Turtle To Be Returned To The Wild After Aer Lingus Come To The Rescue

An endangered turtle will be returned to a sanctuary in Gran Canaria today, one year after she was rescued on a beach in Co. Clare. Leona, as she has been named by her carers, was discovered in a comatose state on a beach on the Clare coast following last winter's severe storms and was taken to Galway Atlantaquaria where she has been nursed back to health. While she had suffered severe injuries in the storm, the loggerhead turtle has since made a full recovery and is ready to be returned to the wild. However, the animal's future had looked uncertain in recent weeks, when no commercial carrier could be found to fly Leona to her new home in a sanctuary in Gran Canaria. The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group made a public appeal in the hope that someone with a private jet would be able to help but it has now been confirmed that Aer Lingus has come to the rescue and Leona will today take to the skies in a specially built box. She will be accompanied by Galway county vet Rita Gately and aquarist Joanne Casserley in the main cabin of an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Las Palmas. "Mixed emotions in the aquarium this morning. Delighted to see Leona heading off on her journey back to the sea, via Gran Canaria, sad to say goodbye," said Galway Atlantaquaria on their Facebook page this morning.