A leatherback sea turtle was spotted in front of the Belgian coast on 13 September, which is very exceptional as they usually only swim in tropic and subtropic seas.
The turtle swam near Oostduinkerke, seven kilometres off the coast. It is only the fifth time a leatherback turtle has been seen in Belgium, and only the second that it was still alive, reports VRT NWS.
How the turtle ended up in front of the Belgian coast is not clear, but it did not show any external signs of being injured or weakened.
Leatherback sea turtles are the biggest and heaviest turtles in the world and have a very noticeable leather-like shell.
The species is on the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) included in the "Vulnerable" category.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
