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Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s ‘By Die Soutwater’ Wins Silver at International Tourism Film Festival Africa
The Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation has proudly clinched a Silver Award at the 2025 International Tourism Film Festival Africa (ITFFA) for its original documentary By Die Soutwater. The film was honoured in the Wildlife and Conservation (Marine Life) category, standing out among 488 global submissions from 60 countries.
Toad crossing: Western leopard toads are on the move in Cape Town!
The Two Oceans Aquarium appeals to all motorists to be aware of migrating Western leopard toads on roads, especially at night.
Celebrating our Marine Protected Areas in an ocean of ways!
Today, 1 August, we are celebrating the fifth annual Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Day! This special day marks a celebration of our ocean’s most critical conservation spaces. Much like our terrestrial national parks, MPAs are sanctuaries where marine life can thrive, breed, and flourish undisturbed – they are vital not just for biodiversity, but also for our future wellbeing.
Bokkie the green turtle’s final tracking update
Our Turtle Conservation Centre released Bokkie, the brave amputee green turtle, on 21 October 2024 into the warm waters of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park Marine Protected Area. After an intensive rehabilitation process at the Turtle Conservation Centre, overcoming plastic ingestion and an amputated flipper, Bokkie certainly made her mark!
"Wild Waterfront": The remarkable tale of our urban wildlife and the people who protect them
This week, the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation enjoyed the premiere of our latest documentary film, Wild Waterfront, at Cape Town's Labia Theatre!
Welcome to the I&J Ocean Exhibit, Habanero!
Habanero the loggerhead turtle has been introduced to the I&J Ocean Exhibit! Thanks to the support of Morukuru Goodwill Foundation, Habanero's future is looking bright.
Orbicular batfish
The orbicular batfish is a large, disc-shaped fish with a flattened dusky silver body. Its anal and dorsal fins are symmetrical, giving the adult batfish a spade-like appearance. Its dorsal, anal and tail fins are translucent yellow with black margins, and its pectoral fins are yellow.
Bluefin gurnard
Bluefin gurnards are a common bottom-dwelling fish throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Their colouring may seem drab and unimpressive, camouflaging them will with the seafloor - until it spreads its brilliant blue pectoral fins, from where it draws its name.Just in front of these fins, you might notice that it appears to have a set of little “legs” that helps it creep along. These are not actually legs, they are modified rays of its fins, which the gurnards use to stir up the sand to find prey – small crustaceans. They are predators that feed on small crabs and shrimp.Gurnard's bodies are long and compact, with armoured, bone-plated heads.Sergeant major
The sergeant majors are small, oval damselfish. It has a grey body with a yellow dorsal area. Most notably, they have five vertical blue-black bars across their bodies.Although they sometimes form schools, the pair up during breeding. Breeding pairs have a preferred territory and will fight other fish to protect it. Once the eggs have been laid, the male will remain to guard and aerate them - this fierce behaviour is where they get their name "sergeant major" as well as their scientific name Abudefdul, with "abu" meaning father or guardian in Arabic.They are omnivores and will opportunistically feed on algae and small invertebrates.Juvenile sergeant majors are commonly found in tidal pools, while adults prefer rock and coral reefs on South Africa's Indian Ocean coasts. Globally, they occur throughout the Indo-Pacific, ranging from South Africa to the Red Sea, Japan and the Pitcairn Islands.Steentjie
This blue-grey fish has an oval-shaped body with several faint yellow horizontal stripes on its flanks and dark blue-grey fins.It has several sets of both incisors and a row of molars. They use this combination of teeth to pick up bottom-dwelling invertebrates and crush their shells. As they mature they become more omnivorous and will graze on algae.During spring and summer months, male steentjies will take on brighter blue and yellow colours and will construct nests in the sand. Once spawning has taken place, the males will remain at the nest to guard the eggs until they hatch.The steentjie occurs in large shoals above shallow, rocky reefs on the coasts of the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and southern KwaZulu-Natal.Hottentot
The hottentot is a small bronze-grey seabream with small dark fins that occurs along the coast of Angola, Namibia, and the South African West Coast to Cape Point.
John brown
The janbruin is a robust-bodied sea bream with an orange-brown body and deep blue eyes set into a blue-brown face.