Two loggerhead sea turtles were returned to the Mediterranean over the weekend at Beit Yanai Beach after months of rehabilitation for injuries caused by blast shock waves and a fishing hook, the Nature and Parks Authority said on Thursday.
The turtles, named Kesem and Poleg, were treated at the authority’s National Sea Turtle Rescue Center after being found injured in separate incidents.
Kesem and Poleg the sea turtles return to the Mediterranean after months of rehabilitation
(Video: Erez Erlichman/Nature and Parks Authority)
Kesem, a female loggerhead weighing 33 kilograms, or 73 pounds, washed ashore earlier this year near the mouth of the Hadera Stream and the nearby power station. She was weak and cold when Mordechai Binovitz, a Hadera resident walking with his dog, Kesem, spotted her and alerted Nature and Parks Authority inspectors.
Erez Erlichman of the National Sea Turtle Rescue Center collected the turtle with Binovitz’s help and brought her to the center for treatment. She was later named after Binovitz’s dog.
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Kesem was found weak and cold near the mouth of the Hadera Stream
(Photo: Adi Oz Shalom)
Poleg, a large male loggerhead, was accidentally caught by a fisherman near Poleg Beach in Netanya in November. He weighed 47 kilograms, or about 104 pounds, when he was found.
Iris Halutz, a local who had arrived at the beach early in the morning to swim with friends, helped rescue him.
“With the help of five people, we managed to carry the sea turtle to a vehicle and drive him for treatment at the rescue center,” Halutz said.
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Kesem and Poleg the sea turtles return to the Mediterranean after months of rehabilitation
(Photo: Erez Erlichman/Nature and Parks Authority)
At the center, veterinarians removed the fishing hook, but Poleg had suffered a jaw injury. Further examinations found that he also had injuries caused by blast shock waves. After several months of dedicated treatment, Poleg recovered and gained weight, reaching 54 kilograms, or about 119 pounds.
About 200 people attended the release event at Beit Yanai Beach in Alexander Stream National Park, including Binovitz and his grandchildren, who came to accompany Kesem back to the sea.
“I got chills thinking about how the turtle looked when we collected her from the beach injured compared with how she looked after rehabilitation,” Binovitz said. “It is an experience for a lifetime. I hope people learn to protect sea turtles, which are endangered, and help save them.”
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Kesem and Poleg the sea turtles return to the Mediterranean after months of rehabilitation
(Photo: Erez Erlichman/Nature and Parks Authority)
The Nature and Parks Authority said about 200 injured sea turtles are brought each year to the hospital at the National Sea Turtle Rescue Center.
The authority said anyone who finds an injured or dead sea turtle should call its hotline at *3639 and should not remove waste or fishing gear from the animal before receiving instructions.