Durban — Jina, the loggerhead turtle bitten by a tiger shark on the South Coast earlier this year is a step closer to a possible release.
That was according to the South African Association for Marine Biological Research (Saambr) when providing its monthly update on Jina.
Saambr’s Ann Kunz said: “We are delighted to report that she is now one step closer to possible release. She has become an adept swimmer, despite the partial loss of both her front flippers. This is evident whenever she thinks about being offered food or sees an opportunity of pinching some food from her carers.”
Kunz said Jina was, without doubt, one of the most food-driven turtles they have cared for and she loves squid (as can be seen in the underwater images taken by our friends Don Hunter and Bryan Hart).
“She has been moved into one of the larger rehabilitation pools so that we will be able to test her swimming ability and we are optimistic that she will pass all her ocean readiness tests,” Kunz said.
She said Saambr would share updates on Jina.
Last month, Kunz said Jina was making steady progress over the past seven months and her stumps have healed well. She has adapted to the compromised state of her flippers and can now dive to the bottom of the pool and resurface with ease.
Jina only has one-third of her left flipper left and two-thirds of her right flipper, but she can navigate through the water and come to the surface to breathe.
When Jina arrived at uShaka Sea World at the start of January, she was assessed by the resident veterinarian at the Saambr and was found not to be bleeding heavily and appeared to be in good shape, other than the injuries to her flippers.
She was given pain relief and left to rest in a shallow pool.The turtle was given the name Jina, which is given to conquerors and victors.
Members of a local dive charter, Mokarran Dive Charters, who were at sea on Aliwal Shoal at the time of the incident, witnessed the tiger shark turning around and biting her second flipper, after noticing some abnormal behaviour in the water.
Daily News