Bob Satellite
Photo Credit: Linda Ness

Bob the Green Turtle has taken to the Southern Atlantic Ocean currents with absolute joy, floating her way through the ocean and living her best life!

 

South Africa (23 June 2023) – Talitha Noble, the Conservation Manager at the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation, is back with another Bob update for us all. When last we updated, we shared that Bob was actually a girl, a new development that had the team very excited! Now we can see Bob is out in the ocean currents, having the time of her life!

She has been out at sea for over 145 days now and travelled 6,915km. The closest land town to her current location is Hermanus, so she is really loving the Atlantic Ocean.

Talitha shared the update via the Two Oceans Aquarium website, saying:

“When we last caught up with Bob, we’d discovered that she is a girl and that circles are her favourite shape… Bob is doing what she does best, cruising in the surface currents of the southern Atlantic Ocean. In the 144 days since her release, Bob has travelled 6 915km!

The ocean is 5 000m deep where Bob is currently swimming and the water temperature is cool at 16.5°C. It has been three months since Bob’s journey down the Agulhas Current turned into loops in the Atlantic’s surface currents. What we know for sure is that Bob is smart about conserving her energy. Keep it up, Bob!”

Where she is headed, only she will know. She will be following her internal guidance, heading towards the area she was hatched. Thankfully, she is taking us all along for the ride!

For those that don’t know Bob’s story, you can read the highlights below:

Bob the Green Turtle had been at the Two Oceans Aquarium since November 2014. She was found severely injured at the De Hoop Nature Reserve.

Her story starts after her rescue – she was injured and underweight for her age, weighing only 16.6kgs. She had severe bruising and a possible fracture of the bottom shell known as the plastron. She also had a loss of scales and exposed bone. Her name was inspired by the fact that she was too buoyant and “bobbed” around the tank – this was all long before the team found out she was a girl. But Bob fits no matter her gender.

Over the span of eight years, the team at the Two Oceans Aquarium prepared her for a release back into the wild. The Indian Ocean was the best place for her release as the warmer water was much more her temperature and it’s closer to the popular Green Turtle breeding grounds along the Mozambican and KwaZulu-Natal coastlines.

Despite the above, Bob has been quite adamant about being in the Atlantic. We look forward to seeing how her journey continues to unfold. She is loving her freedom, that much is for sure!


Sources: TOA Foundation
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About the Author

Tyler Leigh Vivier is a writer for Good Things Guy.

Her passion is to spread good news across South Africa with a big focus on environmental issues, animal welfare and social upliftment. Outside of Good Things Guy, she is an avid reader and lover of tea.

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