Since his big release two months ago, Bob the green turtle has been meticulously tracked by the Turtle Conservation Centre as he explores the ocean.
Talitha Noble, Conservation Manager at the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation, summarises the tracking data:
Also read: Travelling turtles: Here is the latest tracking update for Bob, Turbo and Pan
’63 days ago, Bob was being driven through sugar cane fields, carried down a hot beach, and tasting wild salt water for the first time in 8 years! What an incredible 63 days of adventuring it has been,’ says Noble.
She explains that Bob has covered 3 009 kilometres in 62 days, which is nearly the same distance as a flight from Cape Town to Rwanda.
His average speed has been reported to be 49 kilometres per day, but on some of his fastest days in the Agulhas current, he has reached speeds of up to 150 kilometres per day.
‘Bob has passed through about 24 Marine Protected Areas. Some of these include the Southeast Atlantic Seamounts, where enormous underwater mountains provide biological hotspots; the Browns Bank Corals, where bottlebrush soft corals thrive; and Dwesa-Cwebe, a nursery ground for white steenbras,’ Noble details.
Bob stayed within the continental shelf for 46 days of his journey, experiencing depths of a few hundred metres. Bob then ventured into truly deep waters in the last two weeks.
‘He is currently thriving in waters thousands of metres deep!’ says Noble.
Bob swam around in water temperatures of about 28 degrees Celsius after being released and is now in water temperatures of about 20 degrees Celsius as he approaches the Cape.
So far, Bob’s tag has sent the centre 685 transmissions.
He returned to the Western Cape in the last few weeks and was tracked most recently enjoying the waters 190 kilometres off the coast of Cape Town.
“It’s been an exciting two months of tracking, and we cannot wait for many more” (fingers crossed that his tags stay on!) concludes Noble.
Bob’s statistics:
- Days since release: 63
- Distance travelled: 3 0009 kilometres
- Distance from shore: 190 kilometres
- Water temperature: 20°C
- Nearest town: Cape Town
- Water Depth: 3 900 metres
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Picture: Two Oceans Aquarium
