Tracking our turtles: What have Bheni and Nobomvu been up to?

By Talitha Noble-Trull and Laura du Toit

25 September, 2024 - Conservation, Turtles, Foundation, Blog

Tracking our turtles: What have Bheni and Nobomu been up to?

In the last month, our satellite-tagged turtles at the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s Turtle Conservation Centre have been making waves! While both Bheni and Nobomvu were released around the same time in 2023, they’ve had very different journeys…

Let’s hear from Talitha Noble-Trull, Conservation Manager at the Turtle Conservation Centre, about what these turtles have been up to in September.

Bheni, the green turtle

It has been 288 days since Bheni, the green turtle, was released into the crystal-clear waters of the De Hoop Marine Protected Area!

When we last checked in with our bold Bheni, he was somewhere between the Seychelles and Maldives, heading towards Somalia in the warm waters of the northern Indian Ocean basin. Now, he is only 200km off Somalia’s coastline! Bheni has been travelling along the circular Somali Current, a cold ocean boundary current known as the Great Whirl. This current is highly influenced by monsoons and actually reverses direction twice a year. For this reason, we suspect that Bheni might loop northward as the current tracks towards the Arabian Sea.

A great number of green turtles utilise the North Indian Ocean for its abundant nesting sites, including ones in Oman, Pakistan, and many in Western India. Due to the political instability in Somalia, we don't have a huge amount of data when it comes to sea turtles. However, some stretches of the coastline offer incredible foraging habitats for turtles, and it just so happens that Bheni seems to be headed towards one of those coastal stretches. Will Bheni spend some time along this abundant coastline or continue to head north?

We are so proud of Bheni – since his release, he has travelled 14 500km and covered an average daily distance of 50km!

Nobomvu, the loggerhead turtle

Nobomvu, our “red lady”, was released 284 days ago into the waters off Cape Point. Nobomvu’s movements are of particular interest as a mature loggerhead turtle – she could be gradually returning to nest at the beach where she hatched!

About four weeks ago, Nobomvu was about 700km offshore within South Africa's coastal waters. Recently, though, she has started to move closer to shore and is now only about 60km southwest of Cape Point. Interestingly, when we overlay Nobomvu’s movements with the records of fishing activity in the last few weeks, her presence tracks along with areas of increased fishing activity. This strongly suggests that Nobomvu is pursuing food availability in areas where there are abundant food supplies!

Since her release, Nobomvu has travelled 11 200 km, an impressive 39.5 km per day! The water temperatures are quite chilly (16°C), with a mild wind coming from the southeast.

Is our red lady going to stay along this coastline where there is lots of food or head off on an adventure further away?

What a privilege to be able to check in with our travelling turtles again. Each of their journeys has something to offer the field of turtle conservation – turtles’ movements across the world’s oceans provide scientists and conservation organisations like ours to better understand their lifestyles. In turn, this helps us to protect their species!