A rare turtle that washed up on a Welsh beach is being flown 5,000 miles (8,047km) back home to the Gulf of Mexico.

Rhossi the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle was found close to death in December 2023, and has been nursed back to health by staff at the Anglesey Sea Zoo.

Now, conservationists have begun a carefully co-ordinated operation to fly him across the Atlantic ocean, making sure he does not dry out along the way.

“For his skin, we use KY Jelly – better known as a sex lubricant – because it’s gentle on the eyes,” said Matt Davidson, curator of Anglesey Sea Zoo.

It has taken almost two years to plan, including building a special temperature-controlled crate for him, and co-ordinating complex paperwork across two countries.

Rhossi normally lives in the sea, but has to travel out of the water – first by helicopter from Anglesey to London, then by cargo flight to Houston, Texas, USA.

It means the journey needs to be completed as quickly as possible, and staff have to be constantly on hand to make sure he does not dry out or dehydrate.

Davidson said: “We have to make sure that the shell is really well lubricated, so we spread Vaseline all over to stop it drying out and flaking off.

“The same for the skin – it’s really delicate – and especially the eyes, which both have to be lubricated before he goes into the crate and again just before takeoff, or he will start to peel like someone getting sunburned.

“But I have had to go to the checkout in a chemist’s with about eight tubes of KY Jelly and three tubs of Vaseline and explain what’s happening when I get strange looks.”

Rhossi got his name because he was found on a beach near Rhosneigr on Anglesey in December 2023 by a dog called Meg, out for a walk with her owner.

He was less than two years old and was only just alive, in a state that conservationists call “cold-stunned” from being in much cooler water than his normal habitat.

Staff at the Anglesey Sea Zoo believe he lost his way while in warmer seas because of strong winds.

They have cared for him over the past two-and-a-half years as he tripled in size and grew from weighing under 1kg (2.2lb) to 21kg (46lbs).

Frankie Hobro, owner of the Anglesey Sea Zoo, said: “Cold-stunned turtles rarely survive without specialist help – we didn’t know if he would make it in the first week or two.

“Turtles belong in the wild, not in captivity, so it’s incredibly emotional because this is what we’ve been working towards for more than two years.

“But we have got to know him and his individual quirks while caring for him, and we know that soon, a little piece of us is going to be swimming off into the Caribbean Sea, and we’ll never see him again.”

Kemp’s ridleys are the rarest sea turtle in the world, and lay their eggs on only two beaches in Mexico and in Texas, USA.

The Anglesey Sea Zoo hopes that Rhossi’s release back into the wild will be a small step towards the survival of the species.

Rhossi is the fourth sea turtle to be rescued and rehabilitated by the zoo over the past decade.

Staff are currently planning to build a special turtle rescue centre to care for any more sea turtles found cold-stunned around the Welsh coast.