Dozens of turtles were moved to a new home Tuesday, the recently built sewage treatment facility of the Bnei Shimon regional council in the Negev.

The turtles were transported by Shahar Yasinovsky, director of the western Negev environment department, and Shimon Fashli, director of the Bnei Shimon council's sanitation and licensing division. They dug the turtles out of the mud and dried sewage of Kibbutz Beit Kama's old treatment facility, where workers first discovered their existence when the facility was being drained.

After the discovery, Yasinovsky and Fashli decided to arrange an organized evacuation for the turtles. They had to wait until the rainy season ended, so it would be easier to capture the turtles. The big move began in June and ended Tuesday.

	Advertisement

Trying not to sink in the mud, Fashli held what looked like a large butterfly net. He dipped it down and waited for a turtle to make its appearance. Occasionally, some turtles would stick their heads up, examine the situation, and run away from the net.

All the same, they were slowly captured  and no simple task it was. Once they were ensnared in the net, Fashli and Yasinovsky lifted the turtles and placed them into the vehicle that would transport them to their new home.

When the number of turtles captured came close to the number of turtles estimated to have been living in the old treatment facility, Fashli and Yasinovsky drove a short distance to the new and improved facility. They placed the turtles near the purification pools and the turtles headed straight for the mud they found so familiar.