Tiny, endangered sea turtle found on Quebecs Magdalen Islands for the first time [Video]

One of the world’s smallest and most endangered turtle species was found on the shores Quebec’s Magdalen Islands last week in a first for the province.

The discovery of the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle has veterinarians and sea turtle conservationists worried many more of its kind will swim north because of climate change.

“Sometimes we see leatherback turtles, but these kinds of turtles are unheard of,” said veterinarian Jean-Simon Richard, who hails from the Magdalen Islands but spends much of the year outside the archipelago.

People on the islands sometimes call him when they find beached marine animals, usually dolphins, whales and seals.

But last Saturday he was contacted by someone who had found what Richard said is the most endangered sea turtle species in the world while walking on the beach of Grosse-Île, one of the islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

“We weren’t sure it was still …