Tracking our Turtles: News from Bheni, Nobomvu, and Turbo

Bheni, the green turtle

It has been 254 days since Bheni was released on the shores of De Hoop Marine Protected Area and swam into the beautiful open ocean.

In this time, he has travelled just less than 12 000km, averaging around 47km per day. Initially, we marvelled as Bheni rode the surface currents east into the Indian Ocean and then veered north along the Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge Line. Bheni’s speed and clear direction were paused in early July when he took a break about 700km east of the Seychelles, where the waters are very deep.

However, it did not take long for Bheni’s purposeful mission to take over again as he started moving northwest towards Somalia, travelling along the western edge of the Carlsberg Ridge. Interestingly, this submarine ridge is seismically active (with the last major earthquake in 2003). It was named after the organisation whose expedition discovered this ridge in the late 1920s.

This area is a renowned turtle territory, with nesting grounds and suitable habitats in all directions around Bheni. It will be interesting to see where he chooses to move next!

Nobomvu, the loggerhead turtle

Nobomvu was released into the warm waters off Cape Point 250 days ago. Since then, our Red Lady has taken a more local approach to her new ocean freedom. Staying within 700km of the South African coastline, Nobomvu has still racked up some impressive distances – she’s travelled just over 10 000km, averaging 40km per day.

In the last month, Nobomvu has been weaving around some wonderful offshore sea mounts. Since sea mounts are areas of increased upwelling and ocean productivity, many marine creatures are drawn to them to seek out food. Hopefully, our dear Nobomvu has been stocking up on some good meals!

Turbo, the green turtle

After 566 days of fascinating tracking, dear Turbo’s tag stopped transmitting in July 2024. In that time, he travelled 10 150km, became known as our Namibian explorer, and averaged a solid 18km per day! In the last month of tracking, Turbo stuck true to his roots as an intrepid explorer – we last saw him heading much further offshore into the Atlantic Ocean and towards the Walvis Ridge line.

Turbo and his travels have taught the Turtle Conservation Centre so much more about turtles' ability to withstand cooler temperatures for longer periods. He also highlighted just how special the western coastline of South Africa can be for turtles!

The ocean is Turbo’s oyster as he continues to travel – while we may not be able to follow this next part of his journey, we can still work towards keeping Turbo safe by taking action to protect his home. Let's decide to use less plastic, clean beaches, and create more MPAs. Let’s work together to protect the ocean that Turbo calls home.

Good luck, Turbo! Watch this space to look back on Turbo’s journey from rescue to release!