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A significant portion of conservation is the creation of awareness around conservation issues, but we don't really talk about "creating awareness" much. The reality is that awareness is the most important part of our mission - we'd rather NOT hear the stories of turtles that don't need to be rescued, than have to tell the stories about turtles that do.

Capetonians comparing the recent cold weather to Antarctica might be on to something. An Antarctic leopard seal has come ashore at Kommetjie! Leopard seals are native to Antarctica - in fact, they are one of the world's most successful apex predators! Although young leopard seals sometimes range further north, leaving the Antarctic pack ice to the Southern Ocean Islands where there is less competition, it is exceedingly rare for them to come as far northas South Africa - fewer than 20 have ever been spotted in our waters! Little is known about why these vagrant leopard seals come to South Africa - we don't even know if they are different seals, or if some are return visitors. At the request of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Agriculture, two of our team members headed to Kommetjie to tag this seal so that it can be easily identified if it is ever sighted again elsewhere in the world.

Sharks might seem mysterious, but that's because they are hiding a secret identity - they are Ocean Superheroes. For 450 million years, sharks have kept the oceans thriving and healthy. During this time, other organisms from seagrass to snails, have adapted to thrive in an ecosystem that includes sharks. However, because of their undeserved bad reputation, people seem to turn a blind eye to the hundreds of millions of sharks that are killed by humans every year. it doesn't matter whether you're a shark lover or a shark hater, you are almost certainly dependent on a healthy biosphere and economy - and sharks are hugely important in protecting it. Let's find out how.

Visitors to the Seapoint Promenade over the past few weeks may have noticed a new addition - a mural featuring our very own legend, Bob the green sea turtle, at the Pavilion Rotary Park. What you might not know is that the creator of this design is none other than our resident creative genius, Graphic Designer Jessica Sloan, who came up with the artwork after being approached by the Waterfront Rotaract, who went on to make it a reality!

Our waters are filled with Ocean Superheroes, animals of all shapes and sizes that are equipped with unique superpowers to help them survive and thrive in the underwater world! These school holidays, we're celebrating the special powers of ocean animals on our social media platforms and inside the Two Oceans Aquarium with some awesome new comic book-inspired signage! Plus: There are some amazing events you can attend with us!

Every sea turtle at the Two Oceans Aquarium is a rescue that is on the path of recovery. The goal is always to release these precious, endangered animals back into the wild as quickly as possible, but "quickly" is relative - sometimes healing can take years! For long-term residents of the I&J Ocean Exhibit, like Bob and Harry, it's easy to forget that these animals are actually undergoing constant care - so let's take a look at the progress of these two remarkable turtles, Harry and Bob.

Parents with young children know that the shiny exhibits, lights sparkling off of fast-swimming fish, and the "unique" smell of penguins can be quite distracting for a child - can you imagine what the Aquarium must be like for a dog? Turns out, this sensory wonderland is the perfect place to train search and rescue dogs, which need to be ready to face any distraction!Recently, the K9 Search & Rescue Association of the Western Cape made use of the Two Oceans Aquarium for some after-hours dog training!

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, especially if you're a growing and healing sea turtle! Food is one of the biggest expenses in our turtle rehabilitation centre, but it's an expense that's well worth it when we see a previously lethargic animal perk up, or a tiny hatchling grow to ten times its size by the time of its release back into the ocean. Let's see what goes into the breakfast preparation for these precious animals!

Jellies are pretty alien, right? Well, our resident jellyfish expert Krish Lewis is here to answer all your burning questions about these weird animals, and how we care for, breed, clone and study them at the Two Oceans Aquarium in an exciting online Q&A, with host Kirshia Govender, on 23 June 2021.

Many tiny turtle hatchlings become stranded on the Western Cape's coastline each year - only a few months old, these are hatchlings that begin life on the beaches of northern KwaZulu-Natal. Whether it's due to swallowing plastic and getting infected, being attacked by a predator or simply bad luck, these hatchlings are the ones that, for whatever reason, get ejected from the warm Agulhas Current and struggle to survive in the cold Cape waters.

The theme for World Ocean Day this year is "The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods." The idea behind this day is to look at how human actions impact life beneath the waves, and how this, in turn, affects the lives and livelihoods of the billions of people that depend on the ocean's resources. We see the effects of this every day at the Two Oceans Aquarium, where we share a precinct with a working commercial harbour, eco-tourism businesses, and wildlife like ocean sunfish, dolphins and seabirds - and we get to see the results of the interactions of these systems. It's a delicate balance!

Help the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation's sea turtle rehabilitation programme reach its fundraising goal! Every year, dozens of endangered sea turtles become stranded on the Western Cape coastline - it's only through quick human intervention, care and treatment that they can have a second chance in the wild.