Turtle rescue in Israel

The volunteers and staff of the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority are doing their best to protect Green turtles. The staff transplants turtle nests during the nesting season, protects beaches, rescues and treats wounded turtles brought in by fishermen or washed up on Israel's shores.

They have developed a long-range breeding program for the threatened Green turtles, the numbers of which have dwindled in the Mediterranean to an estimated 450 nesting female Green turtles and about 2500 nesting female Loggerheads. Far removed from man-made obstacles and protected from their natural predators such as crabs, foxes and birds, the hatchlings make their race to the sea with the hope that more than 20 years later they will return to the same beach to ensure the species survival. (Reuters)