Lost turtle ready to return to home - 5,000 miles away

Meet Rhossi, a Kemp's ridley sea turtle who was found in Anglesey in North Wales.

The lost turtle was found washed up on Traeth Llydan beach in Rhosneigr by a dog walker, two years ago.

Since then he's been cared for by the Anglesey Sea Zoo.

But there there are plans to take Rhossi back to his natural home in the Gulf of Mexico more than 5,000 miles away.

Kemp's ridley sea turtles are the smallest marine turtles, typically weighing up to 100 pounds (45 kg) and measuring 24 to 28 inches (roughly 61 to 71cm).

They're also one of the world's most endangered sea turtle species.

Experts originally thought Rhossi was female but now believe the turtle is more likely to be male.

He is now the second Kemp's ridley turtle to be rescued by the Anglesey Sea Zoo.

In November 2021 a turtle named Tally was washed up on Talacre Beach in Flintshire.

It was looked after for 20 months before being flown back to to the US to be released.

Anglesey Sea Zoo is currently aiming to raise funds to build what it hopes will be "the first dedicated turtle rescue facility in the UK".

Conservationists have said that every healthy adult returned to the wild represents another opportunity to strengthen the population.

On 10 August Rhossi will be flown from Wales to London in a helicopter before travelling on a flight to Houston in the United States.

He'll be travelling in a special temperature-controlled transport crate.

A week later he will be released into the Gulf of Mexico near Padre Island National Seashore.

The zoo said that "many of the conservation partners who have helped make his remarkable journey possible will gather to witness his return to the sea".