Expats who are long-time residents of the Kolymbari area will no doubt remember the “turtle walks”, the early-morning expeditions in the summer along Kolymbari beach, looking for signs of turtle nests and passing on the information so that protective fences and signs could be erected. Those who were lucky may even have seen the dozens of hatchlings emerge from a nest and struggle doggedly down the beach into the waves. The work of monitoring and the organisation of volunteers by ARCHELON still continues, and has now received official recognition.
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Why do turtles bite?
Following the reports of swimmers getting bitten by turtles at Marathi, and the statement by Archelon representative Giorgos Vrabas which we reported in a previous post, the organisation has now put out a press release which elucidates the reasons for the turtles’ behaviour and gives advice on how such incidents can be avoided. The full text of the press release is as follows.
Continue readingTurtles are wild creatures
Woman bitten by turtle at Marathi
A woman swimming at Marathi on Akrotiri was attacked by a large sea turtle on the evening of Tuesday 16th July. According to Haniotika Nea, the incident occurred close to the shore near some rocks and the woman was injured on the legs, the turtle biting her in two different places. She was taken to a private clinic in Chania where she was given a tetanus shot and received first aid. There was a similar incident a week later when a swimmer was again attacked at Marathi on the morning of 23rd July. The woman managed to swim ashore and get medical help by herself as the bite was not deep.