OCEAN WANDERER: It’s Turtle Week at the Two Oceans Aquarium, so it’s time to celebrate our carapaced companions. From last Monday to Sunday, experts aim to spread awareness of the plight of turtles and ongoing conservation efforts.
THOSE following the 4000km journey of one of the Two Oceans Aquarium’s most famous and beloved former inhabitants, Yoshi the loggerhead turtle, might be surprised to know they’re not the only ones.
Pemba, the olive ridley turtle jointly released by the aquarium and uShaka Marine World in Durban, has picked up Yoshi’s trail.
It’s Turtle Week at the Two Oceans Aquarium as the team spreads awareness of the plight of turtles and conservation efforts, and activities are held at the facility.
Yoshi is a female loggerhead turtle that was part of the aquarium’s living collection for over 20 years. She was released in December last year, when studies confirmed she’d retained her natural foraging and migratory instincts.
Yoshi has since travelled over 4 000km along the West Coast, to coastal Angola.
Released more than 1 500km away, and months later, was Pemba, an olive ridley turtle. Pemba was rescued in Table Bay in December 2014 and rehabilitated over four years in a joint effort by the Two Oceans Aquarium and uShaka Marine World.
Pemba was released in March this year and has travelled almost 6 000km around the southern tip of Africa. She is now heading north along the Namibian coast – hot on Yoshi’s heels
“Both turtles are cruising northwards, Yoshi passing the coast of Angola and Pemba on the final leg of the South African West Coast, which Yoshi completed in January. Pemba appears to now be following the same route as Yoshi,” the aquarium said in a statement.
But they may not be travelling to the same destination.
“Both are on an epic expedition, with two purposes – firstly to stock up on body fat in fertile feeding grounds, and then, eventually, to return to the beach where they once hatched. Where are these beaches? There is no way to know for certain, but we are hoping that Pemba and Yoshi will show us,” the team of experts said.
According to the aquarium, loggerhead turtles have a wide global distribution, but Yoshi’s path suggests she is from the Southern Atlantic population. If she continues along the coast of Africa, she could reach the Cape Verde islands, by far the largest loggerhead turtle nesting site on the African coast.
It is also a realistic possibility that once she has completed her feeding frenzy on the African coast, she may cross the Atlantic and nest on the eastern coast of Brazil, another huge nesting ground.
“However, we cannot ignore the possibility that Yoshi might be heading into the Mediterranean Sea or may simply turn around at some point and come back around the tip of Africa – joining the huge population of loggerheads in the Indian Ocean,” the aquarium said.
The possibility that excites the experts most is that Yoshi may be a South African loggerhead turtle after all.
“Although her current determination to head north does not strongly indicate this, she may, in fact, belong to the population of loggerheads that nest on the coast of KwaZulu-Natal.
“One subset of these turtles heads into the South Atlantic to feed, rather than towards Madagascar, which is a more common option, and Yoshi may belong to this group.”
Knowing Yoshi, the team said she was the kind of animal who would prioritise finding food over finding a mate.
Olive ridley turtles are not quite as commonplace as loggerheads, but still have nests across the globe.
They display a behaviour called arribadas (“arrival” in Spanish), when thousands of turtles gather offshore and all nest at the same time.
“Like Yoshi, there is a good chance Pemba may decide to cross the Atlantic at some point and nest on the coast of Brazil, although olive ridleys more commonly nest on the northern coasts of South America.
“If she continues along the African coast, she may nest on a beach off Angola, Congo or Gabon and may forage as far north as Cape Verde,” the aquarium said.
Pemba may potentially come back around South Africa to nest on the Comores or Madagascar, although this is not likely as she chose to eject herself from the easy-swimming of the warm Agulhas Current to move up the West Coast, rather than ride the current all the way back to the Indian Ocean.
But it is unlikely that Yoshi and Pemba will cross paths, the aquarium team said.
For information on Turtle Week activities, visit: https:// www.aquarium.co.za