The Environment Agency has followed the impressive progress of Green turtles, Wisdom and Respect. Courtesy EAD
The Environment Agency has followed the impressive progress of Green turtles, Wisdom and Respect. Courtesy EAD
The Environment Agency has followed the impressive progress of Green turtles, Wisdom and Respect. Courtesy EAD
The Environment Agency has followed the impressive progress of Green turtles, Wisdom and Respect. Courtesy EAD

Turtle power: endangered species complete trek from UAE to Oman


Gillian Duncan
  • English
  • Arabic

Two green turtles, tagged in an Abu Dhabi conservation project, have swum to Oman and provided invaluable data to scientists who are trying to protect the endangered species.

The Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) satellite-tagged four green turtles then released them off Bu Tinah Island, an internationally recognised sanctuary for turtles in Abu Dhabi waters, in April in a bid to discover ways in which to protect their numbers.

The EAD tracked theturtles and data showed that two of them - named Wisdom and Respect in honour of the Year of Zayed - left the island four to six weeks later.

Wisdom left first, followed 30 days later by Respect.

They followed the coast towards the Straight of Hormuz and reached Ras Al Hadd in Oman 1,100 kilometres away a few weeks later.

Each turtle took about 30 days to reach the remote beach, meaning they covered about 36km per day, swimming at a speed of 1.5kph on average, according to the data collected by the satellite tags.

They are currently in Ras Al Hadd, which is two and a half hours' drive from Muscat, with other Green turtles.

Scientists believe they may be preparing to lay eggs.

"This finding is yet another conservation success that we can celebrate in the Year of Zayed," said Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Secretary General of EAD.

It is also a first for science in the region, she said, and showed that in order to protect turtles, groups such as EAD had to work at a regional level to protect their habitats, nesting sites and migratory routes.

The long journey made from the UAE to Oman by turtles, Respect and Wisdom
The long journey made from the UAE to Oman by turtles, Respect and Wisdom

“We will share these findings with neighbouring countries and continue to protect these key elements of sea turtle survival across their range,” said Ms Al Mubarak.

She said it was symbolic that the finding occurred during the Year of Zayed, as Sheikh Zayed, the Founding Father of the UAE, was considered to be one of the world’s great conservationists.

“The marine environment, in particular, held an emotional value to him. He considered it a treasured part of our heritage, our present and our future,” said Ms Al Mubarak.

EAD stopped receiving signals from the transmitters attached to the other two turtles “sometime” after they left Bu Tinah, said a spokeswoman for the agency.

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Read more:

Endangered turtles released off Abu Dhabi's Bu Tinah island

Abu Dhabi hotels turn down dazzling lights as fears grow for turtles

Preparations under way for endangered sea turtles’ return to Saadiyat

UAE’s fragile reefs will be under more strain by climate change: report

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There are seven species of marine turtles worldwide and two can be found in Abu Dhabi’s waters – the critically endangered Hawksbill turtle and the endangered Green turtle.

The Bu Tinah archipelago has been under the protection of the UN Environment Programme’s Indian Ocean – South-East Asian Turtle pact since 2016, when the UN recognised the shallows as among the most important sanctuaries for turtles in the Indian Ocean.

The island, located in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra region, is also home to many species including coral reefs, dugongs, natural mangroves, dolphins, ospreys and Socotra cormorants.

It is one of the 19 protected areas under the Sheikh Zayed Protected Areas Network and gained renown in 2011 after being shortlisted in a global competition entitled the "New Seven Wonders of Nature".

Ras Al Hadd – where the turtles currently are - and the nearby Ras Al Jinz beaches are well known breeding grounds for green turtles.

How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
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  2. Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
  3. Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
  4. Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
  5. Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
  6. The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
  7. Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269

*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year

Biog

Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara

He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada

Father of two sons, grandfather of six

Plays golf once a week

Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family

Walks for an hour every morning

Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India

2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business

 

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Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

Ain Dubai in numbers

126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure

1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch

16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.

9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.

5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place

192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.

Federer's 19 grand slam titles

Australian Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Marat Safin; 2006 bt Marcos Baghdatis; 2007 bt Fernando Gonzalez; 2010 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Rafael Nadal

French Open (1 title) - 2009 bt Robin Soderling

Wimbledon (8 titles) - 2003 bt Mark Philippoussis; 2004 bt Andy Roddick; 2005 bt Andy Roddick; 2006 bt Rafael Nadal; 2007 bt Rafael Nadal; 2009 bt Andy Roddick; 2012 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Marin Cilic

US Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Lleyton Hewitt; 2005 bt Andre Agassi; 2006 bt Andy Roddick; 2007 bt Novak Djokovic; 2008 bt Andy Murray

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

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Singapore

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Australia

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Saudi Arabia

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South Korea

11 cabbie-recommended restaurants and dishes to try in Abu Dhabi

Iqbal Restaurant behind Wendy’s on Hamdan Street for the chicken karahi (Dh14)

Pathemari in Navy Gate for prawn biryani (from Dh12 to Dh35)

Abu Al Nasar near Abu Dhabi Mall, for biryani (from Dh12 to Dh20)

Bonna Annee at Navy Gate for Ethiopian food (the Bonna Annee special costs Dh42 and comes with a mix of six house stews – key wet, minchet abesh, kekel, meser be sega, tibs fir fir and shiro).

Al Habasha in Tanker Mai for Ethiopian food (tibs, a hearty stew with meat, is a popular dish; here it costs Dh36.75 for lamb and beef versions)

Himalayan Restaurant in Mussaffa for Nepalese (the momos and chowmein noodles are best-selling items, and go for between Dh14 and Dh20)

Makalu in Mussaffa for Nepalese (get the chicken curry or chicken fry for Dh11)

Al Shaheen Cafeteria near Guardian Towers for a quick morning bite, especially the egg sandwich in paratha (Dh3.50)

Pinky Food Restaurant in Tanker Mai for tilapia

Tasty Zone for Nepalese-style noodles (Dh15)

Ibrahimi for Pakistani food (a quarter chicken tikka with roti costs Dh16)

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While you're here
THE BIO

Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979

Education: UAE University, Al Ain

Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6

Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma

Favourite book: Science and geology

Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC

Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.