Mediterranean loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) are very large. During spawning season, they land on the beaches of Turkey and Greece
at night, which are frequently visited by humans, and lay their eggs. Typically, they
suck feed in deep water. It is uncommon for C caretta, which have strong mouths and jaws, to attack people. We report a case of a 44-y-old
female patient who was attacked by a turtle on the Mediterranean beach in September
2020. She was brought to the emergency department, where she was noted to have a deep
cut on the thumb and large bruises on the left side of her waist. The patient was
discharged with appropriate wound care, antibacterial drug, and tetanus vaccine. The
wound healed within a few months by developing granulation tissue. However, this report
draws attention to the fact that, under some circumstances, C caretta can become aggressive toward people swimming off heavily populated beaches.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 01, 2023
Accepted:
November 28,
2022
Received:
June 22,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2022 Wilderness Medical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc.
