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Last update - 06:18 26/02/2008 Vets mend sea turtle's limb in first operation of its kind in Israel By Eli Ashkenazi, Haaretz Correspondent Tags: israel, operation  Veterinarians last week saved the broken limb of a sea turtle in the first surgery of its kind to be performed in Israel. The turtle, which washed up on the shore near Kibbutz Sdot Yam, is now recovering in a protected pond, where the caretakers are spoiling him with shrimp, cuttlefish and frequent petting. The brown sea turtle washed up last week exhausted and severely injured. Fishing lines he became entangled with were wound around his front fins, severing one of them and deeply cutting the other. Advertisement Amir Horowitz, who found the turtle on the beach, called the Nature and Parks Authority's (INPA) Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center. The center's people found that in addition to the fin injury, the turtle was suffering from an old bone fracture that had not mended. "We saw that blood was still flowing in the limb and decided to save it," says Yaniv Levy, the Turtle Rescue Center manager. "Amputating it would have meant a lifetime in captivity, and don't forget a turtle lives about 70 years." The center's veterinarians - Rotem Yosef, Tzahi Eisenberg and Ariela Rosenzweig - performed an operation to rehabilitate the turtle's limb bone, which had never been done in the country before. They set the broken bone with a metal plate and screws, and inserted a bone implant to encourage the mending process. The bone will take several months to mend, Levy says. Chompy, as the turtle has been named, will spend his rehabilitation period in the Sea Turtle Rescue Center with Gal Handles, a brown female sea turtle who suffered a similar accident three years ago. In her case, the fishing gear caused the amputation of both her front fins, rendering her unable to swim or survive in a stormy sea. She will never be able to return to the wild. "These two turtles' story is common to many turtles," says Levy. Fishing gear is one of the greatest threats to sea turtles worldwide, in addition to reducing the turtles' laying areas and removing beach reeds. "Some 100 dead turtles and 50 injured ones requiring treatment are washed onto Israel's beaches annually, almost all victims of fishing gear, pollution, jute sacks, boats and jet skis," he says. INPA's turtle protection program, including a turtle hatchery and green turtle propagation center, has stopped the ongoing dwindling of the turtle population and led to a rise in the turtles' egg laying in recent years. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Personalized workout Boutique gyms is the next big thing - for those who can pay. No to non-violence 'Human chain' against the blockade on gaza yields disappointing turnout.

Today Online Gaza protest of Israeli siege yields disappointing turnout Responses: 372 Bradley Burston: Palestine's doomsday weapon - non-violence - fails its test Responses: 141 Canadian Jew loses bid to have 'Jerusalem, Israel' in passport Responses: 90 Obama`s top adviser: Israel and Arabs must negotiate own peace Responses: 102 Akiva Eldar: AIPAC does not even bother to rally for two-state solution Responses: 53 Rosner's Domain "Reasonable people can agree or disagree on meeting Ahmadinejad" Clinton allies say: Obama bad for Israel (WTR) Iran Could Have Enough Uranium for a Bomb by Year's End (WTR) Poll: Is it time for Israel to end the blockade in Gaza? McCain, a supporter of Israel with a 'Judeophile' brother More Headlines 08:32 High Court set to rule on petitions against Katsav sex crimes plea bargain 07:55 Iran ordered to pay $33 million to murdered Israeli diplomat's family 07:39 ANALYSIS: In the end blood was shed in Sderot, not Gaza 02:13 Report: Widow of slain Hezbollah terrorist blames Syria for killing 06:46 Store manager fined for employing Jewish workers on Shabbat 06:22 Iran UN envoy: Exiled group feeding U.S. lies on weapons plan 07:26 Israeli diplomat postpones meeting after Costa Rica recognizes Palestinian state 03:08 Olmert aides: Demonstration in Gaza 'much ado about nothing' 01:39 Will Obama be supportive of an Israel controlled by a Likud government? 06:06 Australian soccer player to be disciplined for dressing as Hitler Previous Editions Select Day 25 feb 24 feb 22 feb 21 feb 20 feb 19 feb 18 feb 17 feb 15 feb 14 feb 13 feb 12 feb

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