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Over 1,000 descend on Madinat Jumeirah beach to watch Dubai’s ‘biggest ever’ turtle release
Dubai, UAE — Over 1,000 supporters of the Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project attended The Big Jumeirah Sea Turtle Race to watch six satellite-tagged sea turtles and 150 Hawksbill turtles released back into the ocean at Madinat Jumeirah. Hundreds cheered as the turtles made their way back into the sea at the event, which was designed to raise awareness of the project and its role in rehabilitating sick and injured sea turtles.
The project started in 2004 and has rehabilitated and released over 554 endangered sea turtles. This year alone, the project received and has rehabilitated over 250 sea turtles.
Six rehabilitated sea turtles (two Green Sea Turtles, two Loggerhead Turtles and two Hawksbill Turtles) were each tagged with a harmless satellite device that monitors their whereabouts in the earth’s oceans. Each turtle, which was sponsored by a different Jumeirah Property, (Jumeirah Beach Hotel; Madinat Jumeirah; Jumeirah Zabeel Saray; Jumeirah Living; Wild Wadi Waterpark; Burj Al Arab) will go head to head in the competition to see who will be crowned the winner of The Great Jumeirah Turtle Release. The results will be revealed on Oct.31, 2012, when the turtle who travels the farthest will be announced the winner.
Members of the public can follow the turtles’ journey online from a public forum which will be made available following the release at www.Facebook.com/turtle.rehabilitation
Dubai’s only turtle rehabilitation project is a collaboration between Jumeirah’s Aquarium team and the Wildlife Protection Office, with essential veterinary support provided by the Dubai Falcon Hospital and the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory.
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