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WATCH: Rescued Green Turtle thrives in the wild post release
SAAMBR has welcomed footage from a diver showing a Green Turtle thriving in the wild after recovering from a leech infestation at uShaka Sea World.
A RESCUED Green Turtle is thriving in the wild after a four-month stay at the uShaka Sea World turtle hospital where a team of specialists worked to treat a serious load of parasites and anaemia.
The team, from the South African Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR), based at uShaka Sea World, discovered several ailments when the turtle, affectionately named Aurora, was rescued at Scottburgh Point in August 2022.
The turtle received the all-clear from SAAMBR’s clinical veterinarian, Dr Caryl Knox, towards the end of November and was released at Cape Vidal, on December 8, sporting a high-technology satellite tracker which allowed the team to follow the turtle’s post-rehabilitation movements.
Related news: Turtle fit with tracker travelled 300km since December
“She first explored the areas around Mission Rock and then St Lucia, but moved to Sodwana just in time for New Year’s Eve and has since made this area her new home. We have filtered her transmission data, and the accurate transmission and movements show a distance covered of 1 654km already,” said SAAMR spokesperson Ann Kunz.
- VIDEO: In fact, Andy Coetzee spotted the turtle while free-diving, and he managed to capture a video that SAAMR shared on their Facebook page
“She is looking great and behaving exactly like a healthy sea turtle should. She is making use of this very turtle-friendly habitat, and like Green Turtles so often do, has settled in well and is staying in her new home range. Once she matures, she will head up to the nesting grounds, which for Green Turtles are found in Mozambique, Madagascar and along the rest of the East African coast. We are hoping to get a transmission from Aurora for at least another year or so, and would love to hear from divers in the Sodwana area if they spot her,” said Kunz.
The turtle arrived at SAAMBR with an infestation of leeches, which caused a drop in red blood cell count.
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