Omiros going from Archelon Rescue Center to UK Aquarium!

Homer's Odyssey as Blind Turtle Flies to UK

A blind turtle called Homer is set to arrive at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Newquay early tomorrow morning (Wednesday, February 3rd) after being flown from a rescue centre in Greece.

The turtle was rescued by Archelon - the sea turtle protection society of Greece - after being discovered blind and with head injuries believed to have been caused by a ship's propeller.

As he is unable to hunt or feed due to the severity of his injuries the decision was taken that he could not be released back into the wild.

Homer, or Omiros as he is known in Greece, left Athens Airport today (Tuesday, February 2nd) en route to Heathrow.

A team of marine experts from the aquarium are travelling to pick him up and he is expected to arrive back in Newquay in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Blue Reef Aquarium's David Waines said: "Everyone here is looking forward to welcoming Homer to his new home. The plan is for him to be given a complete medical examination on arrival to ensure he is in good condition.

"He will then be kept in our quarantine facility for the first few days so we can closely assess his condition, behaviour and feeding regime.

"If all is well he will then be transferred to our giant 250,000 litre ocean display where he will be monitored around the clock. Our aquarists will be on hand to feed him and care for him.

"Archelon is a fantastic organisation doing some incredible work however they deal with around 50 turtle rescues each year and they simply do not have the facilities to look after animals which cannot be safely returned to the wild.

"We're able to offer Homer a safe, secure and spacious environment where he can be looked after. His presence here at the aquarium will also help to raise awareness of the importance of sea turtle conservation and rescue work both here in the UK and throughout the world," he added.

The Blue Reef Aquarium in Newquay is one of the UK's leading turtle rescue and rehabilitation centres have successfully rescued and returned 11 loggerhead turtles to the wild in recent years.

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• omiros
• archelon

[jennicagirl]

WOW that thing is huge! I wish i was one. :-)