MICHMORET (Israel) — More than a dozen endangered sea turtles were rescued from major injuries in the Mediterranean. They made their way to Israel’s beach on Friday, after months of medical treatment.
After months of rehabilitation at central Israel’s Sea Turtle Rescue Center, the 15 loggerhead and two green sea turtles were finally released into the wild. Each of the turtles had suffered from different types of trauma during the winter and were brought to the Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority facility.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed the sea turtle species as endangered and threatened. They are also protected by Israeli law.
The facility on the Mediterranean coast north of Tel Aviv provided intensive care for the seafaring reptiles. They were given antibiotics and fluids to start their treatment.
Yaniv Levy is a sea turtle ecologist and manages the center. He said that the biologists had made sure “that we are not making any mistakes” before releasing turtles.
After cleaning, measuring, and weighing them, scientists attached satellite tags to several turtle shells so they could track their location and study their behavior in the wild.
