Aphrodite, the turtle who swam with nylon and a bicycle rim between the fins

He swam carrying a tangle of nylon and a bicycle rim, we are talking about Aphrodite, the sea turtle recovered from the CRTM of Brancaleone, yet another victim of the environmental tragedy caused by man.

He swam carrying a tangle of nylon and a bicycle rim, we are talking about Aphrodite, the sea turtle recovered from the CRTM of Brancaleone, yet another victim of the environmental tragedy caused by man.





What are we doing to our seas? The story of Aphrodite is similar to that of many other marine animals and birds, whose life is compromised by pollution. We told you about the whale found with 40 kilos of plastic in its stomach, the story of this turtle is equally alarming.

Afrodite is a specimen of Caretta caretta of 70 cm and about 25 kilos of weight that was recovered from the CRTM of Brancaleone in Calabria managed by Filippo Armonio, after being reported by the Coast Guard of Reggio Calabria.

She had been spotted in Pellaro (RC) by a yachtsman while he was floating in evident difficulty, without strength and with the front fins now gangrenous.

Aphrodite, the turtle who swam with nylon and a bicycle rim between the fins

“Her medical history is very sad and her current situation is very critical. Her two forelimbs are completely compromised and unfortunately both limbs are amputated, so the chance of survival in these conditions is very low ”, explains Tania Il Grande, head of the hospitalization area of ​​the CRTM, in the video posted on Facebook.

Something squeezed at the shoulder and no longer allowed blood circulation. That something was precisely a tangle of nylon and a bicycle rim that got stuck in the turtle's carapace thus preventing it from swimming and leading to suffering.

Aphrodite, the turtle who swam with nylon and a bicycle rim between the fins

“Aphrodite, at the time of the sighting she was dragging all this equipment you see with her .. there are several meters of nylon line used for fishing and a wooden float used by fishermen to collect the leftover line. All this line was tangled in her front flippers and she was carrying all this swag, plus this bicycle rim. One of the many litter that she is in the sea and that the turtle has encountered during her journey, ”she continues.



The manager then uses a metaphor to make people understand what the unfortunate Aphrodite went through in this period.

Aphrodite, the turtle who swam with nylon and a bicycle rim between the fins

"Try to imagine walking in the street, in your city, and suddenly being trapped in an invisible net, which you cannot see, but which imprisons your arms, shoulders, wrists and elbows .. you try to free yourself, but the more you squirm and the more the grip tightens and the more the pain increases, it increases so much until you no longer feel it .. the pain. You do not even feel the pain anymore but the life of your arms comes away, you are no longer able to move them and slowly you resign yourself to not having them anymore. Scream, try to ask for help but your screams remain deaf .. no one hears them ".

This is what happened to Aphrodite who is already on her way to Bari for visits with Prof. Antonio Di Bello.

“We do not know how his story will end, which unfortunately gives us little hope, but I would like it to make us reflect on what we are doing with our sea and these animals. I would like these images to carry them forever within you ”, she continues.

Images that we now document every day. Animals are increasingly compromised by fishing and pollution: they ingest plastic, they become trapped in nets and there is a shortage of food.


Watch the video:

“However it will go, Aphrodite (so baptized as the Venus de Milo, without arms) we would like her to remain in everyone's hearts and memories as the symbol of the environmental disaster that we are experiencing as spectators. She is only one of the tens of thousands of sea turtles (and not only) that are victims of man every year ”, concludes Il Grande.


Read also:

  • Plastic is killing 40% of sea turtles, especially baby turtles
  • Plastic dead, that's what was found in this turtle's stomach

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