Durban — Jina, the loggerhead sea turtle that had her front flippers bitten off by a tiger shark, swam from Richards Bay to Durban after she was released in December last year.
The SA Association for Marine Biological Research’s (Saambr) Ann Kunz said that Jina had an impressive journey back in the ocean.
Kunz said that Jina, who was rescued in January 2022 after being bitten off Umkomaas, showed us that nothing is impossible.
“She is showing us every day that you can thrive, even when not quite perfect,” Kunz said.
Jina was admitted to the Sea Turtle Hospital with 60% of her left front flipper and 30% of her right front flipper bitten off by a shark.
“It is quite common to see flipper amputations in sea turtles, but a partial double amputation had us all worried about whether Jina would be releasable back into the ocean,” Kunz said.
“She has been exploring the beautiful KwaZulu-Natal coastline since her release back into the ocean after 10 months of rehabilitation at Saambr’s Sea Turtle Hospital at uShaka Sea World and has covered 2 390km already!”
Kunz said that in November 2022, Jina was cleared for release by Saambr’s clinical vet as she was healthy, strong and capable of diving and swimming fast (to hunt prey and to avoid predators) and as a mature female, she also has the potential to contribute to the sea turtle population, which is classified as endangered.
She said that prior to her release, Jina was fitted with a satellite tag and an acoustic tag so that her post-rehabilitation oceanic movements and spatial usage could be tracked and studied.
“The satellite tag can potentially show us where she swims for about two years, where the acoustic tag could transmit signals to the listening stations along the coast for up to eight years, so we hope we will eventually be able to report back on a successful nesting for Jina,” Kunz explained.
Jina was released into the beautiful, warm and protected waters at Cape Vidal on December 9, 2022, and immediately decided to venture south to Richards Bay. She spent a few days exploring this area and they had their friends at the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) on standby just in case Saambr felt she needed some assistance.
Thankfully this was not the case and she decided to head back up the coast to Leven Point, which is about 20km north of Cape Vidal. This is a beautiful area with two shallow reefs offering lots of food (Jina loves to eat) and falls within the St Lucia Marine Reserve, which forms part of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, Kunz said.
“This was her home range for approximately six weeks as she literally zigzagged around in this perfect turtle-friendly environment. At this stage, Jina was covering approximately 38km per day, very impressive for any sea turtle, especially Jina with her shorter front flippers which are mainly used for swimming, while the back flippers are used for steering,” Kunz said.
“On the 3rd of February, she entered the fast-moving Agulhas current and caught a ride in this impressive ocean conveyor belt all the way to Durban. The current moves at about 2km/h, and Jina travelled close to 80km/day and when she was about 60km east of uMhlanga she decided to take a sharp right and headed straight for Durban.
“She spent the weekend a few hundred metres behind backline between uShaka beach and North beach, and we would like to believe that she waved one of those short flippers at us,” Kunz explained.
She said that East Coast Radio listeners, Durban Undersea Club divers as well as the NSRI were asked to keep an eye out for this seasoned traveller as it would be lovely to spot her with her little satellite tracker and aerial on her back.
“We are very excited about seeing where to next, and we are hoping that she will head back up to the marine protected areas of the North Coast while staying well clear of the tiger sharks,” Kunz said.
She said that Jina’s raw transmission data mapped out a journey of 2 390km (green line). “If we only use the most accurate transmission points and map out her ‘direct journey’ it is about 630km (red line). The transmissions have an accuracy range and it is common for the lower-accuracy transmission points to appear on land, but we are confident that Jina did not venture into town.”
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