Video shows rescued green turtles released back into wild in New Zealand nature reserve

Oscar and Kiwa were released after less than two years of rehabilitation

Two green turtles were successfully released in a New Zealand reserve nearly two years after their initial rescue from Ninety Mile Beach, on the far north of the North Island.

Oscar and Kiwa shared a combined 1,190 days in rehabilitation at Auckland’s Sea Life Kelly Tarlton’s turtle rehabilitation centre before being released in the Poor Knights Islands marine reserve 15 miles offshore.

A team from Sea Life Trust ANZ and Kelly Tarlton's attended to the turtles through months of intensive rehabilitation. Through this help Oscar and Kiwa were able to pass their final vet checks and gain enough weight to be deemed healthy for release.

The Sea Life teams have partnered with turtle rehabilitation programme Countdown to remove single-use plastic bags from their stores by the end of 2018. These bags are a significant danger for the animals as turtles can mistake floating plastic ocean waste for food, causing them to ingest harmful material.