We all know that Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed loves animals, and the Crown Prince of Dubai has now got involved in releasing turtles into the wild with Dubai’s Jumeirah Group.

Sheikh Hamdan documented the turtle release in a video posted to IG.

The project was help on World Sea Turtle Day, and the team released 45 rehabilitated hawksbill turtles, plus 20 adorable little hatchlings from the Emirates Marine Environmental Group’s Jebel Ali Reserve. The rehabilitated turtles had all been treated for various health problems, many of them relating to plastic ingestion and injuries that resulted in surgery!

 

On the same day last year, a baby hatchling washed up on the shore which weighed only 11 grams. The Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project had looked after it for a year, and her weight increased tenfold! She was released on World Sea Turtle Day this year back to the ocean.

 

The last few decades have seen a huge decrease in turtle numbers, which are essential for coral reefs, with it though that are less than 8,000 female adults nesting globally, which is 80% down on the last century!

Please ensure that we all recycle our plastic and keep the turtles safe!