Tracking our turtles: Bokkie's first update

It's time for your favourite kind of turtle news – Bokkie’s first satellite tracking update! We’re sharing some fascinating insights from the travels of Bokkie, the green turtle, and Nobomvu, the loggerhead turtle. Let’s hear more from Talitha Noble-Trull, Turtle Conservation Centre Manager.

Bokkie, the green turtle

It has been just two weeks since Bokkie was released inside iSimangaliso Wetland Park on the northern shores of Sodwana Bay! We are thrilled to share her first satellite tracking update. We are also very grateful to Redefine Properties for adopting Bokkie and helping us to keep our turtle community in the loop with her movements.

In her first few days back in the ocean, Bokkie has remained very coastal. She has been moseying around the backline of the coastal surf and slowly heading a little further north towards Kosi Lake and Bhanga Nek. Bokkie has covered about 100km and is only 12km from the Mozambican border!

As nesting season approaches, Bokkie is likely to encounter female leatherback and loggerhead turtles as they start arriving in the region. From October through to the early new year, female turtles will pull themselves up the beaches to find the perfect spot to dig their nests and lay their precious eggs. This is an incredible act of care by these mothers – the site selection, the careful nest creation, and the disguising of their tracks are all painstakingly done to confuse predators and ensure that the little hatchlings have the best chance as they start their new lives. What a miracle!

The area north of Bhanga Nek is renowned for having high numbers of nesting leatherback turtles, so Bokkie will meet some leatherback moms on her travels! Bhanga Nek is also widely regarded as the birthplace of sea turtle research in South Africa – for 62 years and counting, a modest little beach hut has been pioneering turtle monitoring and research work.

It is safe to say that Bokkie is in a space that represents a great deal for turtles in South Africa – good choice, Bokkie!

Nobomvu, the loggerhead turtle

It is coming up to one year since Nobomvu, our Red Lady, was released into the waters of Cape Point. Since then, she has certainly taken the time to reorient herself to ocean life – she has spent lots of time off the Cape coastline, exploring our Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

In the last 327 days, Nobomvu has travelled just under 13 000km, with an average of 40km per day. While her tracks may seem quite loopy, it is remarkable to see how she is using the currents intentionally. For example, her movements were very much aligned with those of the eddy south of Cape Town for the second half of October. Now, she’s entered back into the southernmost section of the Agulhas Current.

Tracking is one of the most crucial tools that we can use to gain a deeper understanding of turtles, their lifestyles, and how to protect them. Through tracking data like Bokkie and Nobomvu’s, we gain insight into species-specific behaviour and movements as well as the value of the areas in which they spend time.