{"id":2241791,"date":"2026-11-06T12:40:48","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T09:40:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2241791"},"modified":"2026-11-06T12:40:48","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T09:40:48","slug":"turtle-to-return-to-sea-after-22-years-at-irish-aquarium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2241791","title":{"rendered":"Turtle to return to sea after 22 years at Irish aquarium"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/b4e5\/live\/cbffe920-3fb6-11f1-b61b-1d0ccf7b6022.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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\"OceanworldOceanworld Aquarium Dingle<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Molly the loggerhead turtle has been in the care of aquariums since 2004<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Mary Cronin’s children Barry and Aisling were still young when the family found a severely injured sea turtle buried beneath storm debris on an Irish beach.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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More than 22 years later, Barry and Aisling have grown up and moved abroad and now Molly the loggerhead has left Ireland too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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After two decades of gradual rehabilitation and veterinary care advances, the rescued turtle has been released back into the ocean.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Because of severe injuries to her front flippers, believed to have been caused by a shark attack, staff feared she might never be strong enough to survive at sea.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Molly was rescued by Dingle Oceanworld Aquarium in 2004 and was there until May 2026 when she moved to to Zoomarine Porto d’Abrigo centre in Portugal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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She was released about 12 nautical miles off the Algarve coastline on Wednesday 28 October. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“We couldn’t be any prouder of her. Getting turtles back to the ocean is always our goal, and this is just the start of a new chapter for Molly,” Oceanworld Aquarium said in a social media post.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Molly is also carrying a satellite tag so the team at Zoomarine can track her. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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