WILDLIFE was the order of the day for a WI group outside Oswestry this week.

Pant WI met on Thursday, March 2 and, once the usual business was concluded, members enjoyed a talk with an international flavour, but one with an important message.

The speaker for the evening was Harry Thomas from Wildlife Sense, an organisation in Kefalonia, Greece, that is involved in the research and conservation of sea turtles.

A spokesman for the group said: “We learnt about why sea turtles are so important to the marine ecosystem and how each one had a unique pattern of scales on their head that could identify them (just like a fingerprint).

“The cycle of their mating and then egg-laying, and the dangers they face – unfortunately mostly from humans rather than natural predators and how they keep an eye on them with drones.

“We also enjoyed watching footage of Harry trying to catch the turtles to assess and tag them, which wasn’t an easy task.

“Not to be confused with their more cumbersome land relative – the tortoise – they are extremely fast animals when pursued.”

Harry also told members how spreading the message about conservation was just as important as the research being undertaken.

As an island popular with tourists, residents were often fearful that their livelihoods could be affected by the creation of nature reserves or other measures to protect the turtles.

Engaging with them and educating them about the benefits of having the turtles visiting the island’s many bays and harbours – from both tourism and ecological perspectives – is having a positive impact.

OTHER NEWS:

It is hoped that the population of turtles will flourish and that injuries and deaths from discarded fishing equipment or boat strikes, as well as the deliberate destruction of their nesting sites, will diminish.

The spokesman added: “The competition was a photo of a wild animal and was won by Gaynor W, with Eiry second and Janet J third.

“We meet on the first Thursday of every month at 7.15pm at Pant Memorial Institute.

“Our next meeting will be on April 6 when Sarah Gibson will be talking to us about swifts.

“We always welcome new members or anyone who is interested in coming along and finding out more.

“Please just turn up or contact us at pantwi1931@gmail.com”

Want to stay up to date with all the latest stories from Oswestry and the surrounding area? Click here to sign up for our morning and daily email newsletters and click on the + for the ‘Morning Briefing’ and the 'Daily Catch-Up'.