The Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project (DTRP) is exhibiting five juvenile hawksbill turtles at the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo in Dubai Mall, to highlight the threat faced by this critically endangered species.

The DTRP has teamed up with the aquarium, one of the world’s largest and most diverse, to showcase the turtles until 30 April, prior to their return to the Arabian Gulf.

Warren Baverstock, Burj Al Arab Jumeirah’s Aquarium Operations Manager, said: “The exhibit, which highlights DTRP’s rehabilitation efforts, is designed to educate the many visitors to Dubai Mall on the plight of these turtles. After a 90-day rehabilitation period, the turtles will be returned to theBurj Al Arab Jumeirah aquarium and Madinat Jumeirah turtle lagoon, where they will be fitted with a discrete satellite tracker and then released back into the Arabian Gulf. Their movements will be monitored and can be followed on Facebook.”

All sea turtles displayed were rescued by the DTRP based at Burj Al Arab Jumeirah and Madinat Jumeirah. The project is run in conjunction with the Wildlife Protection Office and is the only one of its kind in the Middle East and Red Sea region. Essential veterinary services are provided by Dubai Falcon Clinic and Central Veterinary Research Laboratory.

The aim of the exhibition is to educate visitors about turtles, their habitats and global conservation efforts in the fight against extinction. The DTRP rescues and rehabilitates an average of 125 sea turtles each year. The day-to-day running of the DTRP and the animal husbandry is managed by Burj Al Arab’s dedicated aquarium team.

More than 780 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.