Cape Town - A trio of rehabilitated juvenile loggerhead turtles were the first to be released in a national collaborative release co-ordinated by the Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation, uShaka Sea World, and Bayworld with the goal of gathering data on the unknown life stages of sea turtles.
Two Oceans Aquarium spokesperson Renée Leeuwner said the turtles were stranded and rescued from Struisbaai (Overberg region) via the Turtle Rescue Network, whereafter they were admitted to the Two Oceans’ turtle rehabilitation facility, where they underwent veterinary assessments before being released.
Each turtle was fitted with a satellite tag for its movements to be tracked by researchers to enable significant scientific research opportunities and enable researchers to gather data regarding the life stages of sea turtles.
Pan was released by the Two Oceans Aquarium 30 nautical miles south of Hout Bay on Saturday, while Donny was released by UShaka Sea World off the coast of Durban, and Caddy was released by Bayworld and East London Aquarium off the coast near East London on Thursday.
Leeuwner said: “The release provides a unique opportunity to gain insight into ‘the lost years’ life history stage of loggerhead turtles that has been historically understudied. It also provides an opportunity to investigate the impact of release site on the movements of turtles, post release.”
TOA Education Foundation conservation manager Talitha Noble said Pan was rescued in April 2019 and arrived at the aquarium weighing 49.5g. Like all hatchling turtles, he was cold, dehydrated and in need of care.
“After a few months of rehabilitation, Pan developed an ear infection, originally noted as a protruding bump on the side of the head. This initially improved once treated with antibiotics. Unfortunately, it turned into a recurring ear infection as the abscess had actually travelled from the midear, to the upper-ear bone and then to the tissue above the bone,” she said.
Noble said Pan underwent three surgeries by the veterinary team at the Cape Exotic Animal Hospital to clear the ear, place antibiotic beads into the ear bone, and clean out the abscess in the skull. Fortunately, Pan’s ear was looking stable with no signs of another abscess forming.
