The find of a lifetime
WHILE the stranding of marine animals on
Zululand shores is not a rare phenomenon, experts at uShaka Sea World were not prepared for their findings after a large female loggerhead turtle was recently admitted into their care.
Delena, as the 85kg turtle has been named, beached at Bhanga Nek north of Sodwana Bay late last month to lay eggs.
iSimangaliso Wetland Park officials were concerned about her health after noticing lesions on her head, and so rushed her to uShaka Sea World in Durban.
The specialists got straight to conducting tests, determined her injuries and began therapy.
Apart from revealing her skull fractures, from which Delena is recovering well, physical examinations revealed she had previously been tagged and notched.
Further investigations into her notching revealed that Delena is 51 years old, and was one of the first clutches of turtle hatchlings notched in South Africa’s Marine Turtle Programme.
Delena’s specific notching pattern dates back to the 1971/72 sea turtle hatching season.
“South Africa's sea turtle monitoring programme, initiated in 1963, is the second longest running sea turtle monitoring programme globally.
“The notching programme was introduced in 1971 as a way to mark loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings for future recognition.
“Each hatchling has 24 marginal scutes, and by removing a portion of individual marginal scutes, individuals can be linked to a specific year through a catalogued time series,” said Ann Kunz from the SA Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR) based at uShaka Sea World.
“This allows us to do something quite extraordinary allocate an accurate age to a sea turtle, making Delena an incredible 51 years old.
“She is part of 347 000 loggerhead hatchlings that were notched and released in the 33-year programme, and the 1 in a 1 000 that survived to maturity to return to her nesting ground.”
The turtle rehabilitation staff at uShaka Sea World are monitoring Delena’s recovery and await the results of further tests to determine when she can be released.
When she is well enough, she will be released north of Sodwana Bay and will make her own way to Bhanga Nek to lay her eggs on the same beach she hatched.
She has been fitted with a satellite tag in the interim, so her movements can be monitored postrelease.