Dozens of newly-hatched loggerhead turtles emerged from their eggs and were captured on video making a dash for the crashing waves at Nitzanim Beach on Monday.
The Israel Nature and Parks Authority said the hope was that in a few more years the turtles will return to the same beach to lay their eggs, completing the circle of life.
The authority released the video on its Facebook page to stress the damage caused to the turtle population by humans who leave their trash on the beach.
“In order to not interfere with this cycle of life we can also contribute,” the organization posted. “When you go to the beach, do not bring plastic bags of any kind and certainly do not leave them on the beach.”
The announcement explained that the bags end up in the sea, and the turtles can choke when they try to eat them, mistaking them for jellyfish.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the
terms
“Come with a reusable cloth bag and help the magic circle of nature to continue,” the authority said.
Light pollution can also be a danger for newly hatched turtles, who usually emerge from their nests at night and instinctively head for the brightest light, thinking that it is the moon.
Often turtles end up near roads where the lucky ones who are not squashed by cars end up in dead in storm drains or eaten by predators.
We can't do this work alone.
The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident – ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded – I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.
There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.
As a Times of Israel reporter, I’m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit’s. But my colleagues and I can't do this alone. If you value work like this, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.
— Stav Levaton, military reporter
Yes, I'll join
Yes, I'll join
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
