Rehabilitating Kai: How Your Visit To The Two Oceans Aquarium Helps Protect Endangered Turtles

On a blustery day in October 2020, a loggerhead turtle hatchling washed ashore on a Western Cape beach. The turtle had hatched just weeks previously on the northern shores of KwaZulu-Natal, emerging from the depths of its sandy nest before running a gauntlet of hungry predators en route to the ocean.

In the warmth of the Agulhas Current, the turtle flew down South Africa's east coast. As he neared the Cape, he battled the rough, icy seas and lost. Stranded on an isolated beach, cold and dehydrated, the little turtle awaited the worst. But keen eyes, a caring heart, and gentle hands were soon on the scene, and the turtle was on his way to safety. This was the beginning of Kai's story, but it is not a unique tale.

From the moment they hatch, loggerhead turtles must fight to survive. The size of a matchbox, they are powerless against the flow of the currents and make an easy snack for passing predators. Many turtles mistake floating microplastics for food, a meal that will kill them before it sustains them.

Even if they survive these first obstacles, the hatchlings are not out of the woods yet. It takes up to 35 years for loggerhead turtles to reach breeding age - over three decades in which predation, pollution, and poaching threaten their daily lives. All seven species of turtle are threatened, with extinction a very real possibility as human impact on the ocean worsens their odds every day. The work of the Turtle Conservation Centre at the Two Oceans Aquarium moves the needle: Each turtle rescued, rehabilitated, and released means a chance that they will go on to produce the next generation, giving their endangered species a second chance.

It's been nearly five years since Kai was rescued by caring members of the Turtle Rescue Network, and his rehabilitation has been fraught with difficulties and triumphs. He weighed just 53g when he arrived at the Turtle Conservation Centre, a severe lung infection crippling his balance and ability to swim. With the help of X-ray, CT, and MRI scans, the veterinary team discovered that he had unevenly sized lungs, which caused Kai to be unbalanced in his swimming patterns and led to him developing uneven muscle tone.