Dubai conservation group protects endangered sea turtles

Location: Dubai, UAE

This conservation group rehabilitates sick Hawksbill Turtles

at one of the world’s most famous hotels

Burj Al Arab

(SOUNDBITE) (English) MARINE AND ENVIRONMENT MANAGER AT JUMEIRAH SAADIYAT ISLAND RESORT, EMILY ARMSTRONG, SAYING: "From around March till June, the critically endangered Hawksbill turtles come to our beach to lay their eggs. In the winter months when the water is very cold, those same turtles that have hatched earlier in the year, struggle with the temperature fluctuations and end up washed up on our shores."

Hawksbill turtles are an endangered species

with a population drop of 87% over the last 30 years, according to the program

(SOUNDBITE) (EnglIsh) DIRECTOR OF AQUARIUM AT BURJ AL ARAB, BARBARA LANG-LENTON, SAYING: "The first part of the rehabilitation process is when the turtles are found injured or sick, they come to Burj Al Arab where we have an aquarium team that look after the health of the animals and once the critical care part is finished and the animals are getting better, they are moved to state of the art turtle lagoons, where the animals spend the last parts of their rehabilitation process and we can monitor their general health and how they acclimate to the local conditions."

The program has saved over 2,000 sea turtles since 2004