After Bheni the green turtle was released from rehabilitation, a series of underwater adventures would follow for the shelled-explorer who has now clocked 18,000kms!
Global (27 November 2024) — When we last checked in on shelled-explorer, Bheni the green turtle, it was discovered that he had travelled just under 12,000kms since the day he was released from rehabilitation. Now, that distance has increased wonderfully; Bheni has clocked 18 000kms of underwater adventures!
Bheni the Shelled-Explorer
Bheni was rescued from Saldanha Bay as a strandling. Thanks to the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation, Bheni received imperative care for matters like an active infection on his carapace (his top shell). After over a year’s care, he was released into the Marine Protected Area of De Hoop on 8 December, 2023.
Talitha Noble-Trull, Turtle Conservation Centre Manager deemed his adventures since as “nothing short of remarkable”. Of his recent moves, Talitha explains that Bheni has ventured off the Somali coastline, stopped for some snacks in the eddies and picked up the pace northward to the Arabian Sea before arriving in Yemen. From here, it appears Bheni trekked eastward for a while before making a U-Turn through the Gulf of Aden to Djibouti.
Bheni’s impressive 18,000kms means he’s averaged over 52kms per day, enjoyed all sorts of currents, bouts of sea-life and various nutrient-rich waters.
It’s incredible to think that just since August, Bheni has headed all the way from the edge of the Carlsberg Ridge to where he is now.
And, only a few months prior, he was on a watery path forward to the tropics beyond Mauritius.
How Do We Know Where Bheni is?
When a turtle is released back into the ocean after being rescued and rehabilitated, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the adventures they’ll experience would be largely unknown to us land-dwellers.
But, thanks to terrific satellite tech, the TOAF is able to keep up with them until their tag’s stop transmitting. Turbo the turtle was able to be tracked for a whopping 566 days before it shared his final destination in July.
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