One of the Two Oceans Aquarium’s most famous and beloved inhabitants, Yoshi, the loggerhead turtle, will be released back into the ocean later this year.
The Aquarium has decided to release Yoshi as soon as the summer months have warmed the water around Cape Point – probably some time in December.
Two Oceans Aquarium curator Maryke Musson said considering Yoshi’s age, and certain new behaviours that she was exhibiting, the curatorial team, which Musson led, had decided it was time for Yoshi to be released.
“She is within the sexual maturity range now – which is between 18 and 30 years for loggerhead turtles – and we have observed her scratching at the sand in the Ocean Exhibit, possibly mimicking nest-digging behaviour that one might see in the wild.
"Loggerhead turtles live for between 80 and 100 years, and being confident that Yoshi is fit and healthy, there is no reason for us to keep her with us any longer.
“We have already begun preparing Yoshi for release by giving her lots of exercise in the Ocean Exhibit – come feeding time you might see her swimming back and forth between two targets,” Musson said
Yoshi will be fitted with a satellite tag and they hope to be able to track her journey for up to three years.
She was confiscated from a boat in Table Bay Harbour by local authorities in 1996, after getting caught in a trawler’s fishing nets.
When she arrived at the Aquarium, she was the size of a dinner plate, with the Aquarium team estimating that she was about three to five years old at the time, making her between 24 and 26 now.
“Yoshi arrived at the Aquarium broken and lost, and it is amazing to know that we contributed to giving her a one in a thousand chance of reaching reproductive age,” Musson said.
“She is an absolute legend, and has been part of our turtle conservation and rehabilitation story for many years. I cannot wait to see where Yoshi goes; she is ready to cross oceans.
"We will follow her every move as long as we get satellite transmission (hopefully for a few years), and yes, the NSRI is on standby should she need any assistance.
"Nothing will make us happier than to see this beloved animal thrive in the open ocean, even though the farewell will be bitter-sweet.”
Like all sea turtle species, loggerheads are endangered animals. Despite the deluge of eggs that they produce, only about one in 1 000 loggerhead turtle hatchlings survive to maturity.
Renowned South African turtle expert Dr George Hughes said: “Once she is released what goes with her are our hopes that she will avoid misuse and exploitation during the long swim to her eventual feeding and nesting grounds, and our wishes that her success will help contribute to the legendary survival of her kind. We wish her luck.”