What’s On has video of the Dubai Turtle Rehab Project at Madinat Jumeirah and Burj Al Arab. See turtles released in Dubai.

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About 45 turtles – including five outfitted with special satellite tags – have been released into the ocean next to Burj Al Arab to mark World Sea Turtle Day.

The turtles are being returned to the waters after undergoing rehabilitation at the Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project at Burj Al Arab Jumeirah and Madinat Jumeirah and What’s On waded the waters to catch their first moments of freedom.

turtle release

The event was also attended by hundreds of eager onlookers, including children who helped guide the little critters down to the shoreline.

The Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project – one of the longest standing corporate social responsibility initiatives in the region and the only project of its kind in the Middle East – nurses sick and injured turtles that are brought in to the centre throughout the year, and when they have made a full recovery, the DTRP set them free.

turtle release

“Turtles come in to us with a range of illnesses but mostly it’s an infection, an impaction or the ingestion of a foreign item. Some turtles are hit by jet skis, get entangled in fishing nets or ingest cigarettes,” explains Warren Baverstock, the Burj Al Arab’s aquarium Operations Manager.

“Our turtles go through intense rehabilitation at Burj Al Arab before being moved to the large enclosure at Mina A Salam. Some turtles take a few weeks to rehabilitate, but others take months.”

“One of the large turtles we have released today took us 18 months to rehabilitate so it’s very special day.”

Check out the incredible turtle release in Dubai: