Dubai: To mark the 44th UAE National Day, 44 rehabilitated hawksbill turtles were released back into the wild on Tuesday.
The animals were rehabilitated by the Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project (DTRP), which is a collaboration between the Wildlife Protection Office and the Burj Al Arab aquarium.
“The hawksbill turtles are more sedate [compared to other turtles] native to this region, and are critically in danger due to fishing nets or fishermen who want their shells, and their numbers have diminished gradually,” said Warren Baverstock, Aquarium Operations Manager at Burj Al Arab.
He explained that the turtles in the rehabilitation programme also faced injuries related to positive buoyancy, which means they cannot dive down underwater, as well as barnacle encrustation and exhaustion.
In front of a crowd of students, families and hotel guests, the turtles made their way out into the waters, oblivious to the flashing mobile phones of onlookers who were eager to capture the moment on cameras.
“We’ve been looking after these animals for the last six months, and as they are quite young at 18 months old. We can’t say if they are male or female. They weighed an average of two kilograms and can achieve an average weight of 70kg,” said Baverstock.
While the animals are typically released into the wild twice a year, yesterday’s event was a unique exception to mark National Day, and the endangered turtles were not microchipped.
The turtles’ primary care is carried out at the Burj Al Arab facility and then they are moved to the rehabilitation pens at Mina A’Salaam Hotel. After close monitoring, they are then released back into the sea.
“We have 27 turtles left [at the rehabilitation pens] that are amputees, and that’s why they can’t be left out in the wild,” he said.
