Durban — Almost four-and-a-half years later, a loggerhead turtle that arrived at the South African Association for Marine Biological Research (Saambr) as a post-hatchling was released this week.
Saambr’s Ann Kunz said that after spending 52 months in rehab, Munchkin was released into the crystal-clear waters on KwaZulu-Natal’s North Coast earlier on Tuesday.
“It was a perfect day to release a young loggerhead turtle who had spent almost her entire life in rehab,” Kunz said.
Recalling when Munchkin arrived, Kunz said she was part of a mass batch of post-hatchlings sent to them from Two Oceans Aquarium on May 22, 2019.
“All her contemporaries were released within a short period after arrival, but young Munchkin was not so fortunate. She had a history of slow weight gain and went through phases of non-feeding. In addition, she was also diagnosed with bilateral cataracts (cataracts in both eyes),” Kunz said.
“After a series of treatments, she rid herself of the parasites which were responsible for her slow weight gain and inappetence. Her eyesight also showed signs of significant improvement, and although her visual impairment is obvious, Munchkin is able to successfully forage independently and dive, utilising the entire water column in her day-to-day activities.”
Kunz added that Munchkin is a special turtle who shared many special moments with multiple members of their team during her rehabilitation.
“She developed a healthy appetite and became one of the most mischievous turtles we have ever cared for,” Kunz said.
Quarantine aquarist Ryan Rambaran said: “We placed an acoustic tag on her with a 10-year battery life span, which will help us detect Munchkin’s coastal movements. Once the receivers are retrieved, we will gain insight into the movement patterns of a young juvenile loggerhead turtle. Our knowledge surrounding this stage of a young loggerhead's life is not common along our shores (as sea turtles are very cryptic animals and surviving the odds are rare (1/1000 make it to adulthood)), and so her journey will be an interesting one to follow.”
Andy Coetzee said that he and Nats Dos Santos were invited to observe how the acoustic tag was attached to Munchkin’s carapace.
Coetzee said Munchkin arrived weighing only 58 grams and grew over the rehab time until Tuesday, weighing in at 26,7kg, a fantastic increment.
“Hopefully, Munchkin will swim around along our east coast and allow us to learn about juvenile loggerhead movements and preferences as the acoustic tag should hopefully “ping” for up to 10 years with all the receivers along our coastline,” Coetzee said.
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