Get turtle wise this month

KNYSNA NEWS - The Two Oceans Aquarium team will be heading to Knysna and Plettenberg Bay soon for what they have dubbed the “turtle road trip”.

The team said that every year thousands of loggerhead and leatherback turtles hatch on the beaches of northern KwaZulu-Natal.

They head to sea and are carried southward by the warm Agulhas current. Facing high levels of predation and strong currents, many hatchlings find themselves off the Cape's south coast – stunned by the cold, weak and often injured.

Many inevitably wash up and are stranded on our beaches.

To ensure these little turtles have the best chance of survival, the aquarium’s conservation team has decided to undertake a “turtle road trip” to visit locals and communities from Muizenberg to Plettenberg Bay – areas most likely for these turtles to end up.

The team plans to educate locals and equip communities that are able to care for these hatchlings and to transport them to the aquarium's turtle rescue, rehabilitation and release centre.

The team plan to include 10 stops, where they will host a short presentation on what people can do to help sea turtles as well as on the work being done at the Two Oceans Aquarium to assist stranded hatchlings.

“We’ll discuss how you can help save stranded turtles that you might encounter and what you can do to help them out on the other 365 days of the year as well,” the team said in a statement.

The events at the stops are open for all to attend.

The team said that every year thousands of loggerhead and leatherback turtles hatch on the beaches of northern KwaZulu-Natal.

“The Two Oceans Aquarium has a vision: to see abundant and healthy oceans for life.

"We strive to do this by inspiring people to take action for the future wellbeing of our oceans. The conservation work we do with turtles speaks to this in the most practical way possible.

“From the physical action of rescuing a turtle to the realisation that plastic pollution is one of the biggest threats these creatures face, we are inspired to make lifestyle changes through the impact of these ocean ambassadors.

"We value this opportunity and want to develop it to its full extent, thus starting the turtle road trip."

Would you like to attend?