Annie, the famous loggerhead turtle seems to have found a new home in Maputo Bay after being rescued by the NSRI on Noordhoek beach before being placed under the careful care of the Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation more than two years ago.
Annie was affectionately named ‘bubblebut’ when she used to swim around the tank with her bum in the air.
Annie was affectionately nicknamed ‘Bubble Butt’ because she swam around her tank with her bum in the air. According to Maryke Musson at the Aquarium, “there may [have been] some air trapped in her body cavity, or otherwise she is just one very gassy lady!”
The foundation’s Turtle Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release Programme released Annie on 14 January 2021 after a successful rehabilitation when she was found in a ghost fishing net.
Since her release, she was reported swimming around Maputo Bay in July after a four-month journey from Cape Town, almost 2800 km. She has now been there for three months, and Maputo Bay seems to have become her permanent home.
Annie’s internal GPS shows that she has been exploring the different habitats of Maputo bay.
Maputo Bay offers Annie a range of habitats with incredible biodiversity, from mangroves, seagrass beds, large coral reefs, sandy and rocky beaches.
She will share this environment with dolphins, whales, sharks, seahorses, the endangered dugong and 5 other turtle species. The location is also ideal because it is a Marine Protected Area (MPA).
This MPA includes well-managed conservation sites with a large knowledge base amongst its active research facilities and high species diversity.
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Pictures: Two Oceans Aquarium.
