Exciting encounters at Bat Galim beach • Sea turtles
Greetings from Salah and Ofer
These days the team of the sea turtle rescue center received good news, when two brown sea turtles that were treated at the center several years ago, were spotted in the sea, in front of Bat Galim beach in Haifa.
turtle "705"
The sea turtle Salah, a brown sea turtle, a mature and impressive male, was observed several days in a row by Ilan Algarbali, who recognized that it was a turtle treated at the rescue center based on a metallic identification tag on the hind limb. Our hands are very happy.
Every turtle has a marking
Every adult sea turtle treated at the rescue center receives such a marking, so that we can follow the movement and condition of the rehabilitated turtle after its return to the sea.
The sea turtle, Salah
Salah was treated at the rescue center 7 years ago, in 2013, after he was rescued from the sea in the Rosh Hankara area with a hook in his mouth. After treatment, rehabilitation and release back to the sea, Salah was photographed in 2016 again in the Rosh Hankara area by the AQUAZOOM company, and is currently seen on the beaches of Haifa.
Ofer, putting up the wall
Also the female brown sea turtle Ofer, with tag number 611, was spotted by Roni Ziv while snorkeling at Bat Galim beach in Haifa.
Ofer was brought to the rescue center in 2017 from the Haifa port area, also with a hook in her mouth, and also entangled in a net. After about five months of treatment and rehabilitation, she was released in 2018 back to the sea at a beach located in Haifa.
Ofer was spotted five times in Bat Galim
After the release, Ofer was observed five times in a row at Bat Galim beach, by activities for the sea in the local community of Bat Galim, Tal Raz and Sara Ohion, as well as by Roni Ziv, who got to see Ofer these days. Unfortunately, Ofer was spotted now with a large fracture in her armor, but it seems that this is an injury that is healing. We are sorry to find out that in three years Ofer was hit twice, but we are happy to know that she is doing well at sea and is able to deal with the second hit on her own. She stood strong and impressive.
Roni describes the experience of the underwater meeting with Ofer:
It is an exciting and breathtaking experience to meet a turtle underwater. However, this is not the first time I find myself encountering an injured and in many cases lifeless sea turtle. It's a sad sight. Such an amazing creature that had to face a lot of difficulties in its living area, because of humans. The meeting I had yesterday in Bat Galim was special, for the reason that I met a sea turtle that I documented almost two years ago, and I met him again!
Endangered sea turtles
The sea at Bat Galim Beach is a habitat for sea turtles which are in danger of extinction in the Mediterranean Sea, and it is important to protect the sea for the Haifa beaches, in order to protect the home of Salah and Ofer and other turtles.
Keep the house for them
The National Sea Turtle Rescue Center has been operating since 1999 by the Nature and Parks Authority, the trust for the protection of wildlife in Israel. The injured sea turtles are brought to the rescue center and stay there temporarily, in order to receive medical and rehabilitation treatment, and are released into the sea when they recover.
Since its establishment, the rescue center has cared for about 1000 turtles, mainly brown and green sea turtles, as well as softshell turtles, sea turtles and even five dolphins.
In addition to the staff, the ongoing and emergency maintenance of the rescue center relies on a broad base of volunteers who love animals and nature, from all walks of life, who dedicate their private time to the sea turtles.
The rescue center team wishes Salah and Ofer only health and that we will continue to see them in their natural environment at sea. But if you find a sea turtle injured or in distress, please report it immediately to the Nature and Parks Authority call center at *3639 and bring the sea turtle to the National Center for the Rescue of Trawled Sea Turtles.