Six turtles released in latest rehabilitation effort
Conservationists in Dubai are helping to save the critically endangered Hawksbill Turtle and other species with a flagship rehabilitation project.
A week ago, six turtles were fitted with trackers and released into the sea as part of the Big Turtle Race. The creatures are now being followed using GPS and their progress mapped for fans of a Facebook group to monitor.
The project, which is headed by the Wildlife Protection Office and Burj Al Arab Aquarium, has been running since 2004 with four main aims: to assess turtle health; to rehabilitate and release turtles back into the wild; to raise awareness of their plight; and to advance scientific knowledge of turtle behaviour through the satellite tracking programme.
“The Hawksbill turtle, native to the Middle East, is listed as critically endangered with only an estimated 8,000 nesting females left worldwide,” the organisation said.
“Without human intervention, the Hawksbill turtle will almost certainly become extinct within our lifetime.”
Let’s hope the rehabilitation project is a success.
Written by Alex Cochrane
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