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Giant leatherback sea turtle washes up on Trafalgar beach
The turtle was buried on site by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife under the protocols of a Marine Protected Area (MPA).
It was a sad day after a female leatherback sea turtle was found washed up on Trafalgar Marine Reserve beach.
They are not usually found this far south as they are more common in tropical Mozambique and further north.
The Mpenjati Conservancy reported that it is presumed that her body was probably brought up onto the beach during Monday night’s high tide.
The conservancy said her cause of death is unknown but as she was tagged it won’t be long until they have a better idea of her age and journey.
Dr Yvette Ehlers Smith, District Ecologist for Ezemvelo, KZN Wildlife, and her husband David, a research fellow at UKZN were on the scene to take her measurements (1,660 x 1,230mm) and samples for testing.
Once this was finalised the task at hand was to bury her.
Digging a hole of that size is no easy task, but it becomes a lot easier when you have many people to assist.
Every member of the Joubert family, Belinda and Dion with sons Gridion and Etienne, helped with the digging, as well as three Mpenjati Reserve staff members, the Officer In Charge, Njabulo Mavundla, Dr Yvette and Anna Jordan from Mpenjati Conservation.
Men, women and children all got stuck in to complete the job. Then she was gently rolled into her resting place and covered.
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