Public asked to help turtles stranded on Cape beaches
The Two Oceans Aquarium has asked members of the public to be on the lookout for sea turtles that could be stranded on beaches across the Western Cape.
Between April and June every year, juvenile and sub-adult turtles wash up onto the beaches of the province, often suffering from hypothermia, dehydration and/or infection. The strandlings have started even earlier this year due to rough seas and strong winds, and the aquarium has been receiving turtles from as far afield as Knysna and Struisbaai.
The aquarium has requested that the following measures be taken, should members of the public come across a stranded turtle:
– Remove the turtle from the beach and place it in a dry container which has ample air holes.
– Keep it dry and at room temperature – DO NOT place the turtle in water as it could drown (turtles breathe air, just like us, and if a turtle is so weak that it cannot lift its head out of the water, it will stop breathing and drown)
– Make a note of exactly where the turtle was found; and also the size and species if you are able to tell.
– Contact the Aquarium on 021 418 3823 and get the turtle to them as quickly as possible
The turtle species most commonly found stranded around the Cape is the loggerhead turtle. Occasionally one may find a leatherback turtle and perhaps even a slightly larger sub-adult green sea turtle.