Oman’s one and only TURTLE RANGER

January 7, 201624

Personality

Alia, Aisha, Khalfan, Shamsa and Saeed. These are the Arabic names given to turtles by Oman’s one and only turtle ranger. A casual chat with Mohammed Al Hassani reveals

his sincere devotion to the job. His care for sea turtles have seen him saving over 3,000 turtles so far from fishing nets. He is full of energy when he speaks about them and the care he bestows on his pets towards their safety.Mohammed works at the Shangri-La Barr Al

Jissah Resort & Spa, which is privileged to have two species regularly nest on its beaches mainly the Green Turtle and Hawksbill Turtle, the most frequent visitor and critically endangered.The Sultanate is one of the world’s most important

areas for sea turtles as five species visit the waters of Oman, and four of these nest on the beaches of Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa throughout the year.Mohammed thoroughly enjoys his work with turtles

which extends to wee hours on the shores. They are in danger of extinction. When turtles hatch, they struggle to survive from the predators to safely reach the ocean. Some of the turtles even do not have any chance to meet their mother since once they lay eggs they will leave and never come back. It is here Mohammed’s job is crucial at the Resort.

He feels he is lucky to be born a human being and remarks that “when we were born, we are already in the safe arms of parents, we are already sheltered and provided clothes, food by our parents. However, this is not the case with turtles,” he says. His day-to-day task is therefore is not as easy

as one imagined. He prepares the equipment to protect the nest starting from the pole with rope to signage “Please don’t step on the turtle nest”. He then is busy preparing and updating the information

Liju Cherian

Mohammed says he is happy to see the baby turtles reach the ocean safely, to see the happy

faces of the guests in the resort, gives me a satisfaction and I can’t

ask for more.

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on turtles for the guests. In the late afternoon, he is engaged in conducting a “Turtle Talk” for the guests when he can share his life experience with turtles and its nature. By night fall, he is fully busy with turtle tracking. How did Mohammed come to choose a

career as a turtle ranger? He shares an interesting story. As a child, he used to go for snorkeling with his brothers and friends at the Qantab beach. Whenever he spotted a turtle which usually gets stuck in a net, he would rescue them and release it back into the sea. Since then it has become a hobby for him. When he was about 15-years-old, Five Ocean, an environment service company, appointed him as one of their ambassador. The job enabled him to know more about the turtles which made him chose his hobby as a life time career with goals to preserve and save them. Later in the process he became aware

of many turtles which frequent Shangri-La’s beach to lay eggs and also the fact that Shangri-La shares the same vision of protecting the environment and to create a sanctuary for local protected animals. It was therefore wise that he decided to join Shangri-La and dedicate his knowledge and skills to be a turtle ranger. Mohammed joined Shangri-La back in

2005. He usually is busy at his work as a ranger from 11 am to 8 pm but during turtle nesting season he works from 4 pm to 2 am. The turtle nesting season will begin by beginning of January and goes on till August.Says Mohammed: “I am proud to be

part of Shangri-La since it’s one of the well-known international hotel chain that embraces the nature and has a number of programmes to protect the environment. I have been given many opportunities to attend useful training in order to enhance my knowledge about turtles.” When the release of turtle hatchlings is announced to the guests staying in the hotel, many in-house guests from young children to adults are excited to see releasing the baby turtles back into the sea. “To see the baby turtles reach the ocean safely, to see the happy faces of the guests in the resort,

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gives me a satisfaction and I can’t ask for more. “Mohammed desires to do some research

on hatchlings of Leatherback and Hawksbill turtles. He admits that when time comes for an opportunity he will not miss and would like to learn more about turtles. As the Sultanate’s only turtle ranger,

Mohammed feels that it is his love for turtles that inspires him to do more. “I like turtles and they are my favourite animals for me. They are loved and respected the world over. Turtles are wonderfully adopted to live a long life with little help. I am very proud to contribute to their well-being and help with something that I love so much.”Mohammed’s family lives from fishing in

the village of Qantab. He has two younger brothers and five sisters and his brothers and brother-in-laws are all fishermen. He admits that their love towards turtles is the same as his. What does he do when he is not busy as

a turtle ranger. During winter he indulges in camping with his friends and in summer is out doing for snorkelling and fishing at the beaches of Qantab. Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is

committed to serve as good stewards of the environment. The resort’s turtle care initiative is under the sanctuary programme. They ensure that every property built respects local traditions and culture, restores natural habitats, conserves biodiversity and manages waste, water and energy. Under the umbrella of sustainability, their social responsibility programme consists of the two elements of ‘embrace’ and ‘sanctuary.’The initiative focuses on Shangri-La’s Care

for Nature Project which promotes the conservation and restoration of biodiversity.There are seven species of sea turtles

in the world today, and six are in danger of extinction. All over the world, historical nesting beaches are being encroached upon, leading to fewer nests and fewer eggs laid. Fortunately, many countries, like Oman, are doing their best to protect sea turtles and ensure that they continue to live for future generations.

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