A 350kg turtle, which was found dead on a Canterbury beach last year, has been returned to its hapū.
Last year, the leatherback turtle was returned to Te Rūnanga o Koukourarata and last week a burial ceremony was held on Horomaka Island.
The critically endangered leatherback turtle, or honu, washed up dead in Banks Peninsula in March 2019.
It was initially transported to Te Papa in Wellington. But after consultations with DOC and Koukourārata rūnanga it was returned.
Documents show more than $12,000 was spent by DOC and Te Papa on transportation and a burial ceremony.
Te Papa wanted it for research purposes. the plan had been to keep its skeleton to help identify fossil bones. It would also potentially display it.
12 Responses
Wow 350kg?!
very cool!
poor turtle
poor turtle very cool! Wow 350kg?!
soooooo sad hope you rest in peace little turtle
A 350kg turtle, which was found dead on a Canterbury beach last year, has been returned to its hapū.Last year, the leatherback turtle was returned to Te Rūnanga o Koukourarata and last week a burial
Why $12,000 for a turtle and wow 350kg. I didn’t even know that turtle lived in the Banks Peninsula.
it is very unfortunate for these things to happen. when i read that he died my heart dropped because it was a 350kg and was enormous but also because it was an endangered species.
so sad
So sad!
I can’t carry that weight! But thats pretty sad…
that’s so cool and sad