Endangered turtles bred in captivity in Israel to help save species

A newly-hatched baby sea turtle makes its way into the Mediterranean Sea for the first time, as part of the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center's conservation programme, at a beach near Mikhmoret north of Tel Aviv, Israel September 9, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

MIKHMORET, Israel (Reuters) - On a Mediterranean beach in Israel, a newly-hatched baby turtle fumbles along the sand, making its way to the sea for the very first time.

The hatchling, one of 60 to be released into the wild this week, is part of a unique conservation program run by the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center.

A green sea turtle is seen as water splashes next to it inside a pool at the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center, in Mikhmoret north of Tel Aviv, Israel September 23, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Green turtles are endangered worldwide, the World Wildlife Fund says. Among other hazards, they are threatened by hunting, human encroachment on the beaches where they nest, and pollution of their feeding grounds offshore.

According to the Israeli rescue center, only about 20 female green turtles nest along the Israeli Mediterranean coast during a breeding season that usually lasts from May until August.

To help the turtle population, Israeli nature authorities have declared some beaches nature reserves and with the rescue center have been relocating threatened turtle nests to safe hatcheries since the 1980s.

Researchers prepare to lift a green sea turtle out of a pool in order to clean the pool at the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center, in Mikhmoret north of Tel Aviv, Israel September 23, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

In 2002, the rescue center went a step further and began recruiting turtles for a special breeding stock that would one day help populate the sea with their offspring, in one of the world's only such conservation program.

The mating squad began to reach sexual maturity a few years ago and this year managed to breed, said the center's manager, Yaniv Levi. About 200 baby turtles are expected to hatch by the end of the breeding season.

"We're only at the beginning, it's the first year, and we expect that in the coming years we will be able to spawn 1,000 hatchlings a year," Levi said.

Green sea turtles are seen in a section of a pool as a staff member cleans another section at the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center, in Mikhmoret north of Tel Aviv, Israel September 23, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Roderic Mast, the president of the Oceanic Society and co-chair of the IUCN-SSC Marine Turtle Specialist Group, said that releasing the hatchlings to the sea immediately was critical to their chances of survival.

"In terms of conservation, nothing is more important than protection of turtles and their habitats and behaviors in the wild," Mast said in an email interview.

Green sea turtles are seen in a picture taken with a Go-Pro camera attached to a turtle as it swims inside a pool at the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center, in Mikhmoret north of Tel Aviv, Israel September 23, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

(Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Newly-hatched baby sea turtles make their way into the Mediterranean Sea for the first time, as part of the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center's conservation programme, at a beach near Mikhmoret north of Tel Aviv, Israel September 9, 2019.REUTERS/Amir Cohen

A veterinarian performs an ultrasound scan on a female green sea turtle as part of a conservation programme at the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center, in Mikhmoret north of Tel Aviv, Israel September 23, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

A green sea turtle is seen at the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center, in Mikhmoret north of Tel Aviv, Israel September 23, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

A green sea turtle is seen next to a researcher at the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center, in Mikhmoret north of Tel Aviv, Israel September 23, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Researchers perform blood tests on a green sea turtle as part of a conservation programme at the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center, in Mikhmoret north of Tel Aviv, Israel September 23, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Children hold newly-hatched baby sea turtles born at a protective nesting site set-up as part of the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center's conservation programme, at a beach near Mikhmoret north of Tel Aviv, Israel September 9, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Two green sea turtles touch heads at the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center, in Mikhmoret north of Tel Aviv, Israel September 23, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

A volunteer looks at a sea turtle nest inside a fenced-off protective nesting site, set-up as part the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center's conservation programme, at a Mediterranean beach near Mikhmoret, north of Tel Aviv, Israel September 9, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

A sea turtle hatchling emerges from the sand as it comes out of its nest inside a fenced-off protective nesting site, set-up as part the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center's conservation programme, at a Mediterranean beach near Mikhmoret, north of Tel Aviv, Israel September 9, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

A child holds a newly-hatched baby sea turtle born at a protective nesting site set-up as part of the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center's conservation programme, at a beach near Mikhmoret north of Tel Aviv, Israel September 9, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Yaniv Levi, manager of the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center, looks at egg shells from newly-hatched baby sea turtles in a fenced-off protective nesting site, set-up as part the center's conservation programme, at a Mediterranean beach near Mikhmoret, north of Tel Aviv, Israel September 9, 2019.REUTERS/Amir Cohen

A green sea turtle is surrounded by lettuce as it swims in a pool at the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center, in Mikhmoret north of Tel Aviv, Israel September 23, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

A newly-hatched baby sea turtle makes its way into the Mediterranean Sea for the first time, as part of the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center's conservation programme, at a beach near Mikhmoret north of Tel Aviv, Israel September 9, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

A researcher draws blood from a green sea turtle as part of a conservation programme at the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center, in Mikhmoret north of Tel Aviv, Israel September 23, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

A general view shows a fenced-off protective nesting site for sea turtles, set-up as part the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center's conservation programme, at a Mediterranean beach near Mikhmoret, north of Tel Aviv, Israel September 9, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen