TW + CW: The following post contains photos and discussion of a dead sea turtle.

Lovin Malta has received photographs from a witness just outside Pembroke, who discovered a dead sea turtle on the rocks.

“This was near Pembroke, and I don’t know how she died,” they told Lovin Malta.

They were not completely sure when this animal had washed up on the shore, but the believed it was likely to have been there for “a couple days, maybe three,” prior to being discovered.

It is not at all clear what happened to the animal, but the way they are positioned, upright and less than a metre from the water, implies that it probably did not die on land, but was washed ashore after having died in the water.

We can only hope that the turtle did not suffer.

Earlier today, Lovin Malta received a report of a dead tuna fish washed up nearby, also in Pembroke.

It is not clear how either animal died, but given that the start of summer brings a significant increase in boat traffic, particularly in the north of Malta, it is possible that the recent spate of dead and distressed animals could be related.

Although it could not be clearly determined, some experts believed that the large tuna which made its way into Għadira Bay earlier this week, frightening tourists and beachgoers, may have been disoriented into beaching itself after being struck by a boat.