TodayAnimalsUnited Arab Emirates
Forty-three sea turtles crossed Saadiyat Beach back into the gulf
The National Aquarium Abu Dhabi and the Environment Agency released 15 hawksbills and 28 green turtles on October 15, after months of care.
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Forty-three sea turtles crossed Saadiyat Beach on October 15 and slipped into the Arabian Gulf. Gulf News reported on October 20, 2026, that The National Aquarium Abu Dhabi and the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi released them together under a wildlife rescue program that has now returned more than 1,800 sea turtles to the water.
The group covered more than one stage of a turtle's life: 10 hawksbill hatchlings, five sub-adult and adult hawksbills, and 28 green turtles. Hawksbills are listed as critically endangered, and green turtles as endangered. Each animal had been rescued or treated and held until the team judged it ready to manage alone.
Paul Hamilton, general manager of the aquarium, told Gulf News that the walk to the sea is the moment people see, and that it stands for months of care that stay out of sight. The October 15 release also marked six years of the aquarium and the agency doing this work together. It is a count of turtles that left the beach that day, not a count of animals still in treatment.
For the classroom
On October 15, 2026, 43 sea turtles crawled across Saadiyat Beach in Abu Dhabi and swam back into the Arabian Gulf. Gulf News reported that The National Aquarium and the Environment Agency had cared for them first. The group included 15 hawksbill turtles, 10 of them hatchlings and five older, plus 28 green turtles. Hawksbills are critically endangered, and green turtles are endangered. Since this rescue work began, the two groups have released more than 1,800 sea turtles. The public moment is the walk to the water. The longer part is the care before that day.
- What had to happen before these turtles could go back to the sea?
- Why does it matter that the turtles were different ages?
- What is one thing people can do to make a beach safer for turtles?
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