{"id":749988,"date":"2026-06-21T02:38:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T02:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/749988\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T02:38:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T02:38:12","slug":"rescued-baby-turtles-set-to-embark-on-1400km-journey-to-ningaloo-reef","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/749988\/","title":{"rendered":"Rescued baby turtles set to embark on 1,400km journey to Ningaloo Reef"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two rescued loggerhead turtles are set to embark on a 1,400 kilometre journey to be released back into the wild.<\/p>\n

The turtles, Squirdle and Treasure, arrived exhausted and dehydrated at a rehabilitation centre in Bunbury, in WA’s South West, after being washed up during winter storms in 2024.<\/p>\n

After two years of care, the turtles will be flown to Exmouth, to be released into warm waters near Ningaloo Reef.<\/p>\n

It is anticipated they will journey westward towards Madagascar once returned to the wild.<\/p>\n

Tears and cheers<\/p>\n

After two years in care, the pair of turtles were considered family by staff and volunteers at Bunbury’s Dolphin Discovery Centre.<\/p>\n

Volunteers, staff and community members gathered to say goodbye as the turtles embarked on the final stage of their remarkable recovery journey.<\/p>\n

It was a big moment for the people who have helped the turtles since they arrived on Bunbury’s beaches.<\/p>\n

Marine rescue volunteer Yasmin Taylor said farewelling the turtles was bittersweet.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Volunteer Yasmin Taylor helped care for the turtles. (ABC News: Renee Hilton Jones)<\/p>\n

“I’m trying not to cry,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Today is tough. I have helped in the care and animal husbandry of these guys, so I’ve become quite attached.<\/p>\n

“It’s a great thing, we have done our job, the centre is amazing with the rehabilitation side of things.”<\/p>\n

From rehab to release<\/p>\n

The turtles each faced challenges after arriving at the centre.<\/p>\n

“Because Squirdle is missing a front flipper, we had to make sure he could navigate the oceans and there were no buoyancy issues,” Ms Taylor said.<\/p>\n

“Treasure was a little bit slow. They go into a state of shock, so Treasure took a little while to come back from that.”<\/p>\n

After extensive monitoring and veterinary assessments, the duo were cleared for release.<\/p>\n

“We had some X-rays done, no plastics ingested, which was wonderful. They have now been vet cleared, so they’re ready to go home for their big journey,” Ms Taylor said.<\/p>\n

Rescue efforts not just a drop in the ocean<\/p>\n

The turtles were brought to the centre after being discovered by locals on the beach.<\/p>\n

Dolphin Discovery Centre’s Emily Ehlers said it was common for young turtles to be washed ashore during storms in the South West.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Emily Ehlers from the Dolphin Discovery Centre says it is important stranded turtles get special care. (ABC News: Georgia Loney)<\/p>\n

She said it was important people brought in washed up turtles for care by wildlife carers.<\/p>\n

“The reason they’ve washed up is because they were kicked out of the Leeuwin Current, so they’re generally going to be quite cold and exhausted,” she said.<\/p>\n

“If you just put them back in the ocean, it is almost 100 per cent likely they’re going to die.<\/p>\n

“If you bring them into us, we can warm them up, rehabilitate them and get them back [to the sea] when they’re ready.”<\/p>\n

The survival rate of loggerhead sea turtles is extremely low, with only one in every 1,000 hatchlings surviving to maturity.<\/p>\n

Mrs Ehlers said the release was not only a win for the turtles, but also for a species facing daunting odds.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The turtles were weighed before their journey to Exmouth. (ABC News: Renee Hilton-Jones)<\/p>\n

“Knowing we’ve put two juveniles back into the water is really important for the species,” she said.<\/p>\n

The pair will be flown to Exmouth before travelling by boat to the Exmouth Continental Shelf where they will be released back into the current.<\/p>\n

“We wish them well. We are really excited, they’re going to go west towards Madagascar,” Mrs Ehlers said.<\/p>\n

“We’re so sad to see them go but happy we got to be a part of their journey.”<\/p>\n

For aquarist Chantelle Dixon, the release marks the fruitful end of years spent watching the turtles grow.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Staff and volunteers at Dolphin Discovery Centre gathered to farewell the rescued turtles. (ABC News: Renee Hilton-Jones )<\/p>\n

“I’ve been looking after them from tiny little babies that fit in the palm of my hand to now, where I can barely even lift them,” she said.<\/p>\n

“It’s an emotional time but I’m so happy to have them back in the wild.”<\/p>\n

As Squirdle and Treasure nestled into custom transport crates, there were smiles, tears and plenty of well wishes.<\/p>\n

Ms Taylor’s message captured the mood of the day.<\/p>\n

“They just need to go home and live their life in our beautiful oceans.”<\/p>\n

“My message to Squirdle and Treasure is: Be safe, enjoy your freedom, and make us lots of babies. And make sure you don’t wash back up on the beach.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two rescued loggerhead turtles are set to embark on a 1,400 kilometre journey to be released back into…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":749989,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,360148,360150,360147,143767,49557,128,360149,34792,45,338],"class_list":["post-749988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bunbury-dolphin-discovery-centre","tag-leewuin-current","tag-loggerhead-turtles","tag-madagascar","tag-ningaloo-reef","tag-science","tag-squirdle","tag-storms","tag-wa-news","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=749988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/749989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=749988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=749988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=749988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}