Turtle found washed up on Scottish beach in critical condition released into wild 18 months later

A loggerhead sea turtle found in a critical condition on the Isle of Iona in Scotland in January 2022 has been released back into the wild in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the Azores islands, Portugal.

The turtle, named Iona, was taken in by local aquarium Sea Life Loch Lomond, before moving to Sea Life Scarborough and then to Horta, in the Azores, this September.

Iona was weighed, measured and tagged by local researchers before being released off the coast of Horta on Monday 2 October.