Alongside the 30,000 permanent residents (which includes sand tiger sharks, stingrays and huge shoals of fish) you can now find 10 sea turtles from the Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project (DTRP) located at Madinat Jumeirah. The temporary visitors can be seen gliding through the aquarium’s waters and getting to know their new friends for the whole of August and September.
The turtles normally reside in the luxurious surroundings of the Jumeirah Al Naseem turtle lagoon, but checked out at the start of August in search of cooler climes and a little shopping. They are now settling in to the Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo at The Dubai Mall.
The collaboration was made possible thanks to the partnership between DTRP and the Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo.
The DTRP based at Burj Al Arab Jumeirah and Jumeirah Al Naseem , transferred the 10 sea turtles that are in the final stages of their three month rehabilitation. The animals were all rescued earlier in the year from the shores of the Arabian Gulf with a range of injuries, the most common types include carapace (shell) damage from boat strikes and limb loss from fishing lines and net entanglement.
As part of Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo’s ongoing commitment to raising awareness and supporting ongoing wildlife and environmental protection, the joint initiative aims at educating visitors about turtles, their habitats and global conservation efforts in the fight against extinction – as well as inform the public on steps they can take to help ensure the longevity of turtles, and how we can reduce human impact on marine life on a global scale.
From the 1 October they will return to the lagoon at Jumeirah Al Naseem before being returned into the Arabian Gulf in November. These turtles will be fitted with satellite tracking technology so that their movements in the wild can be tracked.
The three main species that the turtle project receives throughout the year are the Hawksbill, Green and Loggerhead turtles. For the past three years, the Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo in The Dubai Mall has supported the DTRP and earlier this year hosted five of the turtles as part of their rehabilitation process.
More than 1,300 sea turtles have been successfully returned to the sea over the past ten years since the project’s inception. The turtles have all been rescued from the shores of the UAE and nursed back to health by the DTRP one of the longest standing corporate social responsibility initiatives in the region and the only project of its kind in the Middle East and Red Sea region.
So next time you visit The Dubai Mall don’t forget there’s much more to simply filling shopping bags - the turtles can be seen exploring their temporary home at Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo throughout the whole summer, so there’s plenty of time to pay them a visit!