Turtles return home after UK stay

Returning home. Dink and James swim off into the ocean

Curator Matt Slater followed Dink and James on their journey back to the wild.

Two loggerhead turtles, which were washed up on the south-west UK coast this winter, have been flown to Gran Canaria and released back into the sea.

Twenty-three loggerheads have been stranded on UK and Irish coasts this year, an unprecedented number. "Dink" and "James" were the only survivors.

After six months of rehabilitation at Blue Reef Aquarium, Newquay, the two loggerheads have been returned to the sea off a beach in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria.

Loggerheads travel around the large ocean currents in a wide loop. From nesting beaches in Florida, they follow the Gulf Stream across the Atlantic to Madeira, and then head south to the Canary Islands and Cape Verde Isles, before heading back to the south-east coast of the US.