Earlier this year, a large loggerhead sea turtle was pulled into the intake filters at the Rutenberg Power Station of the Israel Electric Corporation in Ashkelon. Fortunately, morning shift workers, who came to check the filters at the start of their shift, were surprised to find the exhausted sea creature stuck in a canal and in need of urgent help.
A big sea turtle surprise
Tamir Zak, a power station employee who discovered the weak turtle, recounted:
“One of our jobs is to lift the screening filters to allow proper water flow for cooling the turbine steam. A big sea turtle came up with the filters, and I called over a few of the guys to help lift her out. It’s not uncommon for weak turtles to get swept into the filters at the power station. We do our best to pull them out and save every one we can.”
Rachel received medical treatment
The turtle, later named Rachel after Tamir’s wife, was kept safe at the power station while Tamir contacted the Israel Nature and Parks Authority to report the injured animal.
Sagiv Marom, a volunteer with the Sea Turtle Rescue Center and the Wildlife Ambulance, arrived to transport Rachel for care at the National Sea Turtle Rescue Center in Mikhmoret.
“Rachel arrived with the kind assistance of Electric Corporation workers who helped free her from the filter and contacted us. She underwent a relatively short rehabilitation and we didn’t find any major injuries, aside from a shallow old wound on her shell,” explained Shlomi Piha, a caregiver at the center.
Just in time for nesting season
A radiological exam at the “Kol Hai” clinic in Rehovot, conducted by Dr. Tzachi Eisenberg, revealed that Rachel was in an advanced stage of follicle and egg development, indicating she was fertile.
“With nesting season just beginning, we did everything we could to release her as soon as possible so she could take part in it,” he noted.
A 61-kilogram turtle
Rachel is one of the largest loggerhead turtles to arrive at the rescue center in recent years. Measuring over 80 centimeters long and weighing 61 kilograms, she was moved from intensive care to the recovery pools after a few days, showed a healthy appetite, and gained weight steadily. Blood tests and physical assessments confirmed she was fit to return to the sea.
Rachel returns home
Yesterday (Tuesday), after a final cleaning, she was transported in the “Turtle-bulance” by the rescue team and volunteers to Beit Yanai Beach, where a beach cleanup event was taking place as part of the national “Good Deeds Day” initiative.
Over 100 people came to witness Rachel’s return to the sea. Tamir Zak and his family traveled from Ashdod to attend. With encouragement from the crowd, Rachel was gently lowered onto the sand by Shlomi and Tamir and began her crawl back to the ocean.
אחרי שנה שהיתה תקועה בתעלה: צבת הים קיבלה טיפול ושבה לים | צילום: ארז ארליכמן, רשות הטבע והגנים, תמיר זק, חברת החשמל pic.twitter.com/3UppEuTLEw
— דסק רגע (@deskrega) March 23, 2025
Cross-organizational cooperation
“Workers at the Israel Electric Corporation have helped us greatly in rescuing sea turtles that drift into the company’s facilities. We wish her a joyful nesting season in the wild and hope she brings more wonderful sea turtles into the world,” Shlomi said in summing up Rachel’s recovery journey.
Tamir, who watched Rachel disappear into the waves, added:
“I felt emotional. Knowing we were able to rescue a fertile sea turtle at the peak of her reproductive cycle and return her to the ocean—it’s something special.”
