Jumeirah Release Rescued Turtles
Released on: June 15, 2010, 7:24 am
Author:
Jumeirah
Industry:
Travel
Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts along with The Dubai Turtle
Rehabilitation project has announced the successful return of 25
turtles back to the wild in Dubai on June the 8th 2010.
The 25 lucky turtles which were released back to their natural habitat consisted of
2 Green Chelonia Mydas turtles and 23 critically endangered Hawksbill Eretmochelys
Imbricata turtles.
The Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation project evolved from a small-time operation to help
with the occasional turtle stranding, but in 2009 alone over 68 turtles passed
through the project and were released back into the sea. The latest turtles
received several months of rehabilitation at Burj Al Arab and Madinat Jumeirah to ensure they were healthy prior to their release.
An ever-increasing local awareness of The Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation project has
led to progressively more and more turtles being received each year, especially the
months from January through to April, when local waters can be down to 16C. Many of
the turtles which pass through the project's hands are due to the efforts of
Emirates Marine Environmental Group and Dubai Municipality’s Environment Section, as
well as contributions from individuals.
All the turtles that were released back into the wild have been fitted with flipper
tags to help identify them. Moonlight, a 31 kilo Green turtle has also been fitted
with a satellite tag sponsored by Burj Al Arab,
and was named by the students of Year 1 at Dubai English
Speaking School after winning the project’s naming competition.
Another turtle called Sabri, a Green Turtle who weighed in at 108.6 kilograms, was
named by a Jumeirah supporter who won a competition which was run by Jumeirah across
Twitter and Facebook to help raise awareness of the turtle's plight.
Although much of the project's work is carried out behind closed doors, Jumeirah
Hotels & Resorts donated a large penned area at the Madinat Jumeirah Hotel, which is
used by the project as a pre-release pen. This area provides an important chance to
observe the behaviour of the turtles immediately prior to release, as well as
providing an interface between the Public and the turtles, helping to greatly
contribute to the local awareness. In excess of 1000 school children visit the
project annually and receive guided tours and information on the turtles.
The Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation project is Dubai’s only turtle rehabilitation project and represents a collaboration between The Wildlife Protection Office and
Jumeirah’s Aquarium team.
About Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts:
Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts are regarded as among the most luxurious and innovative in
the world and have won numerous international travel and tourism awards. The
Dubai-based luxury international hotel management group encompasses the world
renowned Burj Al Arab, the world's most luxurious hotel and recognised as the
symbol of Dubai, the multi-award winning Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Jumeirah Emirates
Towers, Madinat Jumeirah and Jumeirah Bab Al Shams Desert Resort & Spa in Dubai, the
Jumeirah Carlton Tower and Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel in London and the Jumeirah Essex
House in New York.
For more information Jumeirah or this press release, please
contact:
Samantha Dancy
Jumeirah Group Corporate Communications
Corporate Communications Manager
PO Box 214159
Dubai
United Arab Emirates
T: +971 4 364 7958
F: +971 4 301 6655
www.jumeirah.com
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