Cape Town - Five rehabilitated turtles have now been successfully released into De Hoop Nature Reserve – a marine protected area – as part of an ongoing release programme at the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s Turtle Conservation Centre.

This comes just a few days ahead of World Sea Turtle Day tomorrow.

The Two Oceans Aquarium’s Turtle Conservation Centre, CapeNature, the Morukuru Family De Hoop, and Morukuru Goodwill Foundation worked together to release two green turtles, Amigo and Zelena, at De Hoop on May 3, after they were rescued off the coast.

The teams then returned on May 24 to release hawksbill turtles Siriti and Amber, and Coral (another green turtle).

Talitha Noble, conservation manager of the Turtle Conservation Centre, said turtles face many challenges in their rehabilitation process, with one of the most common being a cold shock, which all turtles that have been stranded along the coast experience.

“Dehydration, emaciation, infection and injuries are also natural reasons for stranding, and issues which are dealt with during rehabilitation. Plastic ingestion and subsequent egestion is unfortunately also common for turtles placed in our care, often resulting in gut issues and damage when the plastic passes through their systems,” she said.

Alexandra Panagiotou and Ayesha Cornelius of the Turtle Conservation Centre assist Coral on her release at De Hoop Nature Reserve. Picture: Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation

When examined by the veterinary team using CT scans, Noble said Amigo was diagnosed with pneumocoelom – air build-up under the shell – and needed to undergo procedures to remove more than a litre of excess gas and fluid.

“Zelena, a green turtle, was found severely emaciated at De Hoop Nature Reserve. She was severely dehydrated and had visible wounds to her body. But with medical care and plenty of food, Zelena quickly started gaining weight and recovering,” Noble added.

Now that the turtles have been released at De Hoop Nature Reserve, they are in a comfortable, temperate spot with good foraging opportunities to readjust to riding the open ocean currents.

Ed and Anka Zeeman, owners of the Morukuru Family and founders of the Morukuru Goodwill Foundation, are proud supporters of the Turtle Conservation Centre and the adopters of Amigo. They physically carried Amigo down to the water, where he joined Zelena.

Anka said: “Morukuru Family is excited to deepen its involvement with turtle and wildlife conservation efforts through a partnership with the Two Oceans Aquarium. By joining forces with this esteemed institution, the Morukuru Family aims to make a lasting impact and promote awareness about the plight of sea turtles.”

Coral, a green turtle, makes her way down the beach and into the De Hoop marine sanctuary after her release. Picture: Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation

The De Hoop turtle release project has been a long time in the making and declared a a marine-protected area in 1985, the value of its marine environment has been recognised for some time but the teams believe it has even more potential to strengthen turtle conservation along the southern coast.

Over the years, it became clear that turtles are regularly spotted in this area and in the past eight years, the Turtle Conservation Centre received seven live green juvenile turtles from De Hoop, with the beloved Bob the most well-known.

kristin.engel@inl.co.za

Cape Argus