EVERY year, between October and March, the KwaZulu-Natal coastline is a hive of activity for turtles. Particularly loggerhead and leatherback turtles who nest on the KZN north coast with hatchlings swimming along the coast.
There are only seven species of sea turtles, and all of them except two visit South Africa and every one of these species is classified as threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Northglen News recently caught up with senior aquarist, Leanna Botha from uShaka Marine World who works with and rehabilitates sea turtles at the aquarium to find out what to do when you come across a hatchling. This after a baby loggerhead turtle washed up on eMdloti’s shores. Despite the best intentions of the Good Samaritan, the reptile later died of natural causes.
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“Every year is different and it’s difficult to predict but we have seen an increase on sea turtles being stranded, particularly loggerheads. It’s hard to say why there are so many being stranded but generally the come to shore to rest because they are exhausted. Once in the water the hatchlings typically swim several miles off shore to escape the predators. There are so many obstacles for hatchlings in the open ocean including plastic garbage which they sometimes sadly ingest.
“The obstacles are so numerous for baby turtles that only about one in 1 000 survives to adulthood. Many of the turtles in our exhibit arrived at uShaka Sea World because they had been injured at sea. Sadly this youngster didn’t make it but we recommend that residents call us immediately should they come across a stranded turtle or hatchlings on our shoreline.”
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