Here they feed opportunistically on a variety of hard-shelled and gelatinous invertebrates 15. Much like leatherback turtles, loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta have been observed conducting meandering foraging movements in the open-ocean 13, 14. In addition, leatherback turtles may feed opportunistically en route to these foraging areas and, due to the spatiotemporally ephemeral nature of the gelatinous zooplankton blooms in the open-ocean 10, 11, this means that the migratory pathways of leatherback turtles generally have a flexible, meandering appearance 12. The size of these foraging areas can extend from localized regions, to entire ocean basins 7, 8. These foraging areas usually coincide with regions that host large abundance of gelatinous zooplankton 4 – the obligate prey of leatherback turtles. Leatherback turtles can travel thousands of kilometres between tropical nesting beaches and foraging areas, which are often in remote, open-ocean waters 6, 7, 8, 9. Sea turtles are also well known for their long-distance migrations, with arguably the longest undertaken by the leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea 5. This is especially true for animals that undergo extensive migrations throughout their lives, such as a wide range of marine mammals, fish, and sea birds. Furthermore, animal movements can provide insights into the characteristics of the land- or sea-scape that the animal is travelling through, such as the distribution of prey or thermal habitats 2, 3, 4. The rare presence of a resident coastal aggregation of leatherback turtles not only presents a unique opportunity for conservation, but alongside the presence of loggerhead turtles and other endangered marine megafauna in the Mozambique Channel, highlights the importance of this area as a marine biodiversity hotspot.Įstablishing the movement patterns of free-ranging animals is imperative to understanding their behaviour and ecology, and often is central to designing effective conservation strategies 1. Stable isotope analyses further indicate that the Mozambique Channel also hosts large numbers of loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta. Moreover, this coastal cohort appears to remain resident year-round in shallow waters (<50 m depth) in a relatively fixed area. However, we demonstrate, using a combination of satellite telemetry and stable isotope analysis, that approximately half of the nesting leatherbacks from an important rookery in South Africa do not migrate to distant foraging areas, but rather, forage in the coastal waters of the nearby Mozambique Channel. The vast distances that may be travelled by migrating leatherback turtles have greatly complicated conservation efforts for this species worldwide. Previous studies have shown that the world’s largest reptile – the leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea – conducts flexible foraging migrations that can cover thousands of kilometres between nesting sites and distant foraging areas.