The coordinated work conducted by the Colombian Navy and the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Nariño - Corponariño, led to the rescue of a fine Galapagos wolf, and 13 turtles of different specimens, protected according to resolution 0192 of 2017, issued by the Ministry of the Environment.
As part of a sea search and control operation, conducted by the Navy Infantry Brigade No.4, a fine Galapagos wolf was rescued, which was laying on the beaches of El Morro in the municipality of Tumaco.
The crew of the Naval Institution safeguarding the animal's life, placing it into custody of the veterinary medical staff of the Corponariño Wildlife Center, who upon examination identified that it was a male of the specimen Arctocephalus galapagoensis.
After a week of rest, care and recovery, the Galapagos fine wolf was transported and released by the navy accompanied by the personnel of the environmental authority, in the Bocagrande sector in Nariño, a strategic place for the mammal with its sense of orientation to return to its natural habitat.
The transit of these mammals along the Colombian Pacific coast is unusual, since they commonly inhabit the Galapagos Islands, so the environmental authority believes that the exotic animal moved away from its natural habitat due to the heavy currents of the Pacific Ocean, which caused physical exhaustion, which prevented it from swimming back to its home.
In previous years, some of these specimens have been found in countries such as Ecuador and Panama, due to climatic changes such as the El Niño phenomenon.
In the same way, during boat inspections and road operations, 13 turtles were recovered in the municipalities of Olaya Herrera and Tumaco - Nariño, which, presumably, would be illegally marketed for human consumption.
Among them was a Dolphin turtle of the specimen Lepidochelys Olivacea, recognized for being the smallest of the sea turtles, and for having a heart-shaped shell.
In the same way, troops rescued two Chest turtles, and 10 Case turtles, of the Kinosternon Scorpioides family, which are considered mud turtles, because they usually stay in the mud on the banks of freshwater streams.
The 13 turtles were released into their natural habitat in coordination with the officials of Corponariño, giving them a new opportunity for life and reproduction of their specimen.
Source: Press - Navy of Colombia
