Yoshi journeys on!

Yoshi, South Africa’s famous loggerhead turtle, has now swum a whopping 40 011 km since her release in 2017. The Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, where Yoshi lived for 20 years, confirms that hers is the longest recorded journey of any tagged animal in history. According to goodthingsguy.com, Yoshi’s story started in 1997 when she was rescued by the crew of a Japanese fishing vessel and named after the ship’s cook, who was also small in stature, just like the little turtle.

Upon making port in Cape Town, Yoshi was handed over to the Two Oceans Aquarium, where she spent 20 happy years as a crowd favourite. Once her rehabilitation was complete, she was tagged and prepared for release. When the day came, Yoshi weighed in at a hefty 183 kg. She was reintroduced to the ocean 50 km off the coast of Hout Bay. It was a bittersweet moment; Yoshi would be missed.

Researchers and caretakers alike wondered where she would go. Turtles normally return to nest near to where they were born, and Yoshi’s origin was (and remains) a mystery. First she headed up the West Coast and swam past Namibia to Angola, before turning around and returning to our shores near

Cape Point.

Researchers continued to map her journey using the tracker on her tag and they were surprised when she started crossing the

Indian Ocean towards Australia – previously undocumented behaviour by a loggerhead turtle. Yoshi currently calls the land Down Under her home: She has been cruising up and down Eighty Mile Beach, a 220 km stretch of beach on the north-western coast of Australia, since lockdown began. After a long and perilous journey, it seems this ocean ambassador might finally be home.

However, the question still remains, where will she nest?

Track Yoshi’s journey: aquarium.co.za

Sources: goodthingsguy.com; aquarium.co.za