From rescue to release, twelve turtle hatchlings are getting a second chance at life thanks to SPAR and the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s Adopt a Turtle Hatchling programme.
Cape Town, South Africa (15 December 2025) – There is something quietly hopeful about a rescued turtle hatchling. Fragile, palm-sized and completely unaware of the journey ahead, each one carries the instinct to return to the ocean one day.
That sense of hope was felt recently when 12 stranded loggerhead turtle hatchlings were adopted through the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s Adopt a Turtle Hatchling programme, giving each of them the care and support they need to recover and grow strong enough for life at sea. Retailers from SPAR Western Cape and Namibia heeded a call from the Two Oceans Aquarium, adopting the turtle hatchlings in honour of their communities.
Every year, the Turtle Conservation Centre receives turtle hatchlings that wash ashore along South Africa’s coastline, often cold, injured or exhausted. Without intervention, many would not survive. The adoption programme plays a vital role in covering the daily operational costs and the specialised rehabilitation required to give these vulnerable animals a second chance.
What makes the programme especially meaningful is the connection it creates. Each adoption comes with naming rights for the hatchling, a certificate, a photograph and detailed information about where the turtle was found and how it is progressing. Adopters receive monthly updates, including growth milestones, weights, photos and videos, following their turtle’s journey from rescue to eventual release back into the ocean.
“At SPAR we are family and community driven, so it’s wonderful to be part of the Aquarium Foundation’s Turtle Conservation Centre through this ‘Adopt a Turtle’ initiative,” said Elsabe van Zyl, Sponsorship and Events Manager for SPAR Western Cape and Namibia. “They do amazing work for our city, and its communities, educating and looking after the conservation of our threatened sea turtle species.”
For the Foundation, every adoption directly supports a species under threat.
“All species of sea turtles are threatened, so efforts to rehabilitate every single one of the stranded turtles rescued by members of the public and brought to us is critical to their survival,” said Ronnis Daniels, Stakeholder and Company Engagement Manager at the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation. “With the support of adopters, the team at our Turtle Conservation Centre is able to give rescued hatchlings a second chance at life in the ocean.”
For the adoptive ‘parents’, the hope is universal. That these tiny turtles will grow stronger, return safely to their natural habitat, and one day navigate the vast oceans they were born to roam.
Until then, their journey will be followed with care, curiosity and no small amount of excitement, a reminder that sometimes, protecting the future starts with something very, very small.
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