The Two Oceans Aquarium has released a request for people to please keep an eye out for stranded turtles during this storm and contact their rescue team should you find one.
According to the Aquarium, every year, thousands of loggerhead and leatherback turtles hatch on the beaches of northern KwaZulu-Natal.
They head to the ocean and are carried southward by the warm Agulhas Current. Due to predators and strong currents, many of the young hatchlings find themselves carried the Cape’s south coast. They become stunned by the cold, left weak and are often injured. They eventually wash up and are stranded on our beaches. Without help, these stranded hatchlings have no chance of survival.
The Two Oceans Aquarium conservation team has teamed up with coastal communities and organisations to create network points that are able to care for these hatchlings and to transport them to the Aquarium’s turtle rescue, rehab and release centre.
Below is a list of numbers to call should you find a hatchling or stranded turtle.
- V&A Waterfront, Two Oceans Aquarium (021 418 3823)
- Muizenberg, Shark Spotters (078 174 4244)
- Hermanus, South African Shark Conservancy (028 312 3029)
- Gansbaai, Dyer Island Conservation Trust (076 061 3114)
- Struisbaai, NSRI Station 30 (082 990 5952)
- Witsand, Lower Breede River Conservancy Trust (028 537 1296)
- Mossel Bay, Bartholomeu Diaz Museum Complex (044 691 1067)
- Wilderness, SANParks (084 714 7793)
- Sedgefield, CapeNature Goukamma Nature
- Kynsna, SANParks (044 302 5600)
- Plettenberg Bay, Tenikwa Wildlife (044 534 8170)
If you do find one, these are some of the important things to remember. The Aquarium has an exstensive list of steps to follow which you can read in detail here.
If you're in the Western Cape please be on the lookout for stranded sea turtles! 🐢 This bad weather causes a lot of strandings – get in touch with the Turtle Rescue Network if you find one: https://t.co/xO04VYE3Gr #seaturtles #turtle #capetown #saveourturtles pic.twitter.com/CDqDrIR8RS
— Two Oceans Aquarium (@2OceansAquarium) June 14, 2018
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