Aquarium wants public to honour Yoshi’s odyssey

YOSHI the beloved loggerhead turtle has travelled more than 35 000km across the ocean. The former Two Oceans Aquarium resident’s story has taken the world by storm and inspired the imaginations of people from all walks of life, from Cape Town to Canberra.

The Aquarium team has now appealed to the public to honour Yoshi’s epic journey by helping the Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation to create the next generation of ocean champions.

Contributions will help reach the goal of providing world-class environmental education for 35 000 South African children or to rescue, rehabilitate and release 350 stranded turtles.

With a donation of R3 500, the Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation can host 35 children for a curriculum-aligned lesson at the facility.

To rescue, rehabilitate and release a stranded turtle costs the Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation R4 600 per turtle.

To date they have released more than 557 healthy turtles back into the wild.

Yoshi was the size of a dinner plate when she first arrived at the Two Oceans Aquarium in 1997.

She weighed 183kg and measured 107cm long and 89cm across on the day she was released, south of Cape Town, on December 16, 2017.Now, two years and 35 000km later, Yoshi is beating records and blowing minds. If the journey between her Angolan feeding grounds, which she visited in 2018, and her nesting site, which may be on Australia’s northern coast,

“Yoshi was lucky. Most other turtles don’t get a second chance

Spokesperson Two Oceans Aquarium

proves to be her natural migration path, then this could be the longest migration journey undertaken by any sea animal ever recorded – longer than the current record holders: humpback whales, great white sharks and leatherback turtles.

“Yoshi’s 35 000km journey through South Africa, Angola and Australia’s waters is incredible, but her journey almost ended 20 years ago when she encountered humans for the first time.

“Yoshi got lucky and was rescued, but most other turtles encountering human-made hazards don’t get a second chance,” the aquarium said in a statement.

To donate, visit www.givengain. com/cc/yoshichallenge